
Class JLqji^_ 
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FROM ROUGH RIDER 
TO PRESIDENT 



FROM ROUGH RIDER 
TO PRESIDENT 



BY 

DR. MAX KULLNICK 



TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN 

BY 

FREDERICK von REITHDORF, Ph. D. 

PROFESSOR OF MODERN LANGUAGES, MONMOUTH (iLL.) COLLEGE 



WITH FRONTISPIECE 




CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
1911 



En 



Copyright 

A. C. McCLURG & CO. 

1911 



Published April, J 911 



Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England 



\«: 



. 



3. i^all printing <5nnt|ianB 
(Clnragn 



CI. A 286632 



o 



15 



PREFACE 



IT IS rare, if not an altogether unheard of thing, 
to find a foreign scholar giving his attention to 
an American statesman, much less to a living Ameri- 
can statesman. It is no small compliment, therefore, 
to the American nation as well as a high tribute to 
Theodore Roosevelt, that an eminent German has 
seen fit to write a short biography of the greatest 
living exponent of what is best in the American 
people. 

The book is in a measure unique : it is unique not 
only because it gives the biography of a man who is 
yet, as far as we can tell, in the beginning of his 
service to his country, a man who as a private citizen 
has found it in his power to exert a greater influence 
upon the life of the people and the course of national 
affairs than the political leaders themselves, and who 
has absorbed the attention of the world the last few 
years as no other has done since the days of Napoleon 
the First ; but the book is also unique because it is not 
an over-zealous tribute from the pen of a fellow- 
countryman, but a spontaneous recognition of the 
heroic qualities of Mr. Roosevelt by an unbiassed 
scholar of that nation of scholars, Germany. 

[v] 



PEEFACE 

With few exceptions, notably Chapter X, which has 
been purposely condensed, the book is given as it 
came from the pen of the distinguished German. It 
has been the aim of the editor in every case to pre- 
serve the sense of the original, though he is not vain 
enough to pretend that the translation is without 
error. He believes, however, that the details of the 
life of the man and the general tone of the book are, 
in all essentials, faithfully preserved. 

F. V. R. 

Monmouth, Illinois, 
January, 1911. 



[vi] 



AUTHORS INTRODUCTION 



THEODORE ROOSEVELT has succeeded in gain- 
ing the confidence, yea, even the love, of his fel- 
low citizens in an unprecedented way. The educated 
people declare him every inch a man, and the unedu- 
cated look upon him as a being almost superhuman. 
He is believed to know everything and to be able to do 
everything. Whenever difficulties arise in any part of 
the country, all eyes are turned instinctively to Mr. 
Roosevelt as the one who is able and willing to help 
them out of the trouble, be it of a public or a private 
nature. 

Though we keep aloof from any exaggeration, we 
must acknowledge that in Roosevelt an important 
and striking personality is presented. He is regarded 
as the personification of the real American character. 
Just as he, in boyhood, tried to imitate the great men 
of his country, such as Washington and Lincoln, he 
himself has become to-day the hero of every American 
youth. 

It is true that our young men do not have to go to 
foreign lands for men after whom to shape their 
lives ; our own country has many men as worthy of 
imitation as any that the world has produced. Never- 
theless it would be a mistake to let pass unnoticed 
such a fascinating and altogether noble personality 

[vii] 



AUTHOB'S INTRODUCTION 

as Mr. Roosevelt, simply because he is a citizen of a 
foreign country. A man who has by his own will 
power overcome an inherent bodily weakness, a man 
who faithfully and courageously stands for what is 
right and fights for what is good, a man whose highest 
aim is to advance the cause of morality and right liv- 
ing everywhere, such a man deserves to be placed 
before the younger generations as a model of true 
manhood. 

But this is not the only purpose of writing this 
book. As but little of Roosevelt's past life is known 
in Germany, it is hoped that it will be welcomed by 
many a reader who desires to know more of the 
details of the life of the man who has stood so promi- 
nently in the foreground of the world's history in 
recent years. 

I have chosen the title, "From Rough Rider to 
President," because it was the popularity gained in 
the Cuban war that finally placed Mr. Roosevelt in 
the White House. 

My sources have been, above all, his own works, and 
in addition the writings and reports of those in close 
touch with him. For help in gathering the material 
for this book, I am especially indebted to Mr. Herbert 
Putnam of the Congressional Library at Washington 
and also to the former private secretary of the presi- 
dent, Mr. William Loeb, Jr., and to these gentlemen I 

hereby express my thanks. 

Max Kullnick. 

[ viii ] 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Ancestry 11 

II At the University 38 

III In the Stream of Politics ... 52 

IV In the Wild West 77 

V Roosevelt, the Reformer ... 99 

VI Roosevelt as Police Commissioner of 

New York 115 

VII In the Navy Department . . . 138 
VIII Roosevelt in the Spanish-American- 
War . 156 

IX Roosevelt as Governor of New York and 

Vice-President of the United States 193 

X Mr. Roosevelt's Political Philosophy 219 

XI Practical Politics . . . .236 

XII Personality and Private Life . . 269 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO 
PRESIDENT 



CHAPTER I 

ANCESTRY 

SOON after Peter Stuyvesant, the knight with the 
silver leg, had become director-general of the 
Dutch colony in North America, he was followed by a 
crowd of men who differed distinctly from the earlier 
inhabitants of New England. They were not impelled 
by a longing for adventure to settle in New Amsterdam, 
nor did they turn their backs upon the Old World 
because ' ' the native soil had become too hot for them 
to tread upon," nor did they wish to indulge in 
America in practices considered criminal at home. On 
the contrary, they were respectable, well-to-do men. 
Many of them belonged to the old Dutch nobility and 
took with them to the New World their native pride 
in the family coat of arms. They entrusted them- 
selves to the lightly built sailing-ships and emigrated 
with their belongings to America in the hope that they 
might enhance more effectively the commercial inter- 
ests of Holland. 

[11] 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The number of furs and skins taken from New 
Amsterdam to Europe was incredibly large, for the 
forests, which began at the back steps of the last 
houses of the village and extended as far as any one 
had ever dared to penetrate them, teemed with game 
of every kind. On the numerous rivers, countless 
beavers built their artistic dams. The red masters of 
the land, whose principal occupation was hunting, 
brought to the whites, with whom they were generally 
friendly, mountains of the most precious furs to 
exchange for valueless trifles, and above all for the 
1 ' fire water ' ' of the foreign traders. No wonder then 
that the Dutch merchants, flattered by the prospects 
of rich gain, settled in miserable New Amsterdam, 
which did not become a flourishing city till the reign 
of Peter Stuyvesant. 

The arrival of the Dutch colonists had a distinct 
influence on the settlement at New Amsterdam. The 
population at this time was a mixture of men from 
everywhere: there were, besides the Dutch, the Eng- 
lish and the Irish, the Germans and the French 
Huguenots, to say nothing of the Indians who lolled 
in the streets and between the houses. Nor was 
Africa without representation in New Amsterdam ; 
and more and more frequently ships from the Gold 
Coast transplanted negroes to American soil. Eight- 
een different languages and dialects were spoken 
upon the streets. The moral ideals of the people 
were, perhaps, even more various. Alongside the 

[12] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

well-educated European with his high ethical stand- 
ards were living all kinds of depraved men who had 
fled the prisons of the Old World. Side by side with 
the hard-working tillers of the soil were bestial red 
men, indolent and inclined to theft and murder. Under 
these conditions, the thrifty Dutchmen soon became 
the ruling class, and continued to exert their influence, 
when, in 1664, the English took possession of New 
Amsterdam and gave it the name of New York in 
honor of the Duke of York, later James II. 

One of the men who settled in New Amsterdam 
during the reign of Peter Stuyvesant was Claes Mar- 
tenszoon van Rosenvelt, the forefather of a long line 
of merchants, many of whom have rendered excellent 
services to their country. The Roosevelts have occu- 
pied seats in the city council of New York at various 
times. In some respects, the most able of them all 
was Johannes Roosevelt, who was a member of the 
council from 1748 to 1767, and increased the wealth and 
the honor of the family. Although their fortune has 
never been such that it could be compared with that 
of the dollar-kings of the America of to-day, it was 
large enough to secure for the Roosevelts a comfort- 
able, care-free life, since the family has always been 
guided by principles of economy. One Nicholas Roose- 
velt was, in 1786, a member of the Senate and at the 
same time president of the Bank of New York ; another 
Roosevelt gained fame as an engineer by building the 
first steamboat that ever floated on the Ohio and the 

[ 13 I 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Mississippi. The grandfather of the ex-president was 
elected by his fellow-citizens a member of Congress, 
and his father, Theodore, was one of the most influen- 
tial citizens of New York. This Theodore Roosevelt 
was a lawyer and a judge at one time. But his pro- 
fessional duties alone did not satisfy the cravings of 
his strong, industrious mind, and he devoted a large 
part of his time to the care of the poor and helpless. 
He interested himself in the freed slaves, investigated 
the distress of the homeless, and tried to make it 
possible for criminals who had atoned for their crimes 
in prison to become again respected and useful 
members of society. His philanthropy stamped him 
a real father of the children of New York ; he had his 
own opinions as to education and advocated them with 
great determination. Above all, he demanded for the 
children fresh air and exercise in the open; they 
should wander at will in the fields and woods and 
enjoy their play in order that they might learn to love 
and to value nature, and at the same time to develop 
to the fullest their physical powers, which, in the 
poisoned atmosphere of the crowded city, were in 
danger of permanent injury. The father of the 
ex-president was himself a great lover of nature, and 
an ardent admirer of fine horses and dogs — it was his 
pride and joy that no one in New York was better 
able to drive a carriage than he. Through the estab- 
lishment of numerous homes for the newsboys of New 
York, he became the benefactor of that great host of 

[141 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

boys upon whom the burden of self-support had too 
early fallen. A man in whose breast there beat a 
heart so warm for the distress of the children of the 
slums would naturally have a tender love for his own 
children. Mr. Roosevelt was married to Martha 
Bulloch, the daughter of General Bulloch, a Georgian 
who repeatedly distinguished himself on the Confed- 
erate side during the Civil War. Mr. Roosevelt him- 
self championed the cause of the North. While one 
Bulloch was building the pirate ship, the Alabama, 
and another was aiming the last shot fired from it as 
it sank down under the guns of the Unionists, Mr. 
Roosevelt was in New York, busy with equipping 
regiments, sending them to the front, and seeing to 
it that the soldiers in the field and their families at 
home were cared for. Though the husband and wife 
by the bonds of nature were drawn to opposing par- 
ties, their difference in sympathies was never allowed 
to disturb in the least their personal relations. The 
truly happy home-life of his parents has often been 
set up by ex-President Roosevelt as a symbol of the 
unification of the North and the South. Just as he 
feels himself neither a man of the North nor a man 
of the South, but simply an American, so must the 
barriers which once separated the country fall before 
the common interests of the North and the South. 
Four children, two boys and two girls, were wel- 
comed by-and-by into the old patrician home of the 
Roosevelts in New York. Though the younger son, 

[15] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Elliott, was a strong, healthy boy, the older, Theodore, 
born October 27, 1858, was not so happily endowed. 
On account of his frail body, he was the object of 
special care and caused continual anxiety to his par- 
ents. The first years of his life were spent largely at 
the family country seat at Sagamore Hill near Oyster 
Bay, Long Island. But in spite of all that his parents, 
aided by the pure sea air and the aromatic breezes of 
the woods, could do for him, he still suffered acutely 
and remained stunted in growth. 

His physical helplessness created in him a certain 
bashfulness, which was apparent in his intercourse 
with other children. When bigger boys made fun of 
him, he did not know what to do, and usually sought 
refuge with his stronger brother, Elliott, who early 
became his protector. His mind, however, developed 
far more quickly. When very small he was able to set 
the whole household at odds by his questions, for, if 
anything excited his attention, he bombarded each 
member of the family in turn, till he had secured an 
answer which satisfied him. When he was scarcely 
six years old, he would frequently compel his mother 
to sit by him to listen to what he had to say concern- 
ing problems that were in his mind, or to the stories 
with which he entertained his brother and sisters by 
the hour: stories wherein animals talked and the 
heroes were all Samsons or Herculeses. 

The first years of his life were care-free, and his 
days full of boyish sports, in which his father occa- 

[16] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

sionally took part. Those were the real holidays when 
the father and children mingled together on the basis 
of sweet comradeship. Under the leadership of the 
father, they hunted, they bathed, they sailed, they beat 
together the untrodden paths of the silent woods, and, 
when time was too short for more extended trips, 
they strolled together upon their own lawn. 

The impressions of this early period of his life have 
always remained with Mr. Roosevelt. They awakened 
in him a love for nature and all that is and lives 
therein ; they taught him the value of play and manly 
sports ; and above everything else they gave him a 
high ideal of a happy family life. 

Gradually the time approached when the parents 
had to think of placing the children in a school. Mr. 
Roosevelt was sensible enough to send them to the 
public school. He realized that, among children at 
least, the difference between rich and poor should not 
be apparent, but that all classes should be educated in 
the principles of equality, should play and be joyful 
together, and should in noble combat gain the standing 
in the class-room, which, on account of ability and 
hard work, was rightfully theirs. Little Theodore is 
said to have progressed slowly at first. His physical 
weakness did not permit him to take part in the play 
of the children, for, though he possessed the courage 
to accept challenges, or even to play the role of the 
aggressor, he lacked the necessary strength to match 
his opponents. 

[17] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

And yet the i ' fight for existence ' ' began for him in 
the truest sense of the word on the very day he first 
entered school. The other children teased him about 
his sailor suit and tauntingly dubbed him a fop. As he 
could not endure that, he was frequently engaged in 
fights, which often ended so disastrously for him that 
his brother Elliott had to come to his rescue. His 
father praised him when he had shown himself coura- 
geous, and so instilled in him the value of firmness in 
the right that later in his advice to American boys in 
" St. Nicholas " he said: " The coward who receives 
a blow without returning it is a contemptible creature ; 
but yet he is hardly as contemptible as the boy who 
on account of the mocking of his companions, who are 
themselves in the wrong, does not dare to stand for 
that which he considers right." Such were the prin- 
ciples which he held even when a boy, and he has 
always remained true to them, no matter how trying 
the circumstances. As a boy he was full of life and 
always ready for all sorts of wild pranks. Had not 
Providence selected him for something better, no 
doubt he would have met violent death when, as a boy, 
to the astonishment of all the neighbors, he once prac- 
tised gymnastics on the ledge of a third-story window. 
As his health did not improve,, his father thought it 
advisable to let him spend the greater part of the year 
at Sagamore Hill, where, under the care of a private 
teacher, he could be almost always in the open. For a 
short time he attended the Cutter private school in 

[18] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

New York, which then was one of the best-known 
schools. 

As has been said before, the father of Theodore 
Roosevelt was an energetic, industrious man. His 
wealth would have allured a less noble and determined 
character from any kind of work, but the elder Roose- 
velt's whole conception of the meaning of life was 
such as to preclude any thought of that nature. Again 
and again he called the attention of his children to the 
fact that there is no place on earth for lazy and idle 
people ; that no one has the moral right to spend his 
days doing nothing, even if he need not work ; but that 
every man is in duty bound to perform some honest 
task with his whole mind and strength. Such doc- 
trines made a deep and lasting impression on the mind 
of young Theodore. 

Early in life young Roosevelt manifested some of 
those traits of character which are well known in 
Roosevelt the man. As a boy he entertained a great 
liking for history and all things connected with it. 
The ' ' Journeys of Livingstone through the Dark Con- 
tinent " was one of the first books that he truly 
devoured. He had little use for mathematics with its 
fixed formula? and dry numbers ; but his sense of duty 
held him to the intricacies of the science till he became 
reasonably proficient, which furnished further proof 
of his wonderful will-power, the master key of his 
successful life. 

It has been said that Roosevelt was born with a 

[19] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

golden spoon in his mouth, and that he is a Sunday 
child. If we consider, however, that intellectually he 
was not at all above the hoys of his age and that physi- 
cally he was below them, we shall hardly believe the 
statement. His wealth did not raise him above his 
contemporaries, but he has become what he is to-day, 
the pride and the hope of a mighty people, the hero 
and the shining example of every American boy, on 
account of his honesty, his industry and the strength 
of his indomitable will. 

From his reading in youth, he got the heroes whom 
he wished to imitate. The heroic figures of the north- 
ern sea-kings, who ploughed the sea like fields and till 
death remained true to their love and their hatred, 
who with a grim smile looked death in the face and 
gave their life without flinching for their avenging 
deity, impressed him deeply. He found a similar 
spirit in the men who pushed past the mountain bar- 
riers of the Alleghanies, brushed aside the resisting 
Indians of the plains, and made the prairies blossom 
as the rose. The books of Captain Mayne Reid, who 
had himself been a merchant and a negro-overseer, a 
teacher and an actor, a hunter and a sharp-shooter 
during the Indian wars, together with the stories of 
Irving and Cooper, formed his favorite reading. And 
in the woods of Sagamore Hill, he fought out the bat- 
tles of his heroes. High on horseback with gun in 
hand, he saw himself in strife with the giants of his 
imaginary world. But to be that conqueror of whom 

[20] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

he dreamed, he must be strong and vigorous, and he 
was still weak and pale. 

He was intensely conscious of his own bodily 
infirmities and strove in every way in his power to 
overcome them. He rowed and swam ; he took exer- 
cise in walking and made frequent excursions through 
the woods and into the mountains. These journeys 
brought him still closer to the nature about him. 
Almost as byplay, he learned the names of the vari- 
ous trees and flowers of his neighborhood, and soon 
he was able to distinguish the birds by their songs. 
None of his playmates knew as much as he about the 
birds: their feathers, their songs, their nesting and 
their mode of living. He also became somewhat 
skilled in the art of the taxidermist, and made collec- 
tions, which were later considered valuable enough to 
give to the National Museum. 

At the beginning of the year 1873, Theodore Roose- 
velt, senior, went to the World's Exposition at Vienna 
as a commissioner of the United States. As it was 
thought that the trip might bring to the fourteen-year- 
old boy the long looked for health, the whole family 
accompanied the father to Europe. For many 
months, the little sufferer enjoyed the fresh air of the 
Highlands of Algeria. A short trip took him to Egypt 
and to Palestine. No doubt the pyramids and other 
silent witnesses of the greatness and the splendor of 
a people long dead left a deep impression on the 
receptive mind of the young man, as he drifted down 

[21] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the Nile through the ruins of vanished empires ; but 
more than the past and its deeds, the living nature 
about appealed to him. With a gun on his shoulder, 
he strolled over the land of the Pharaohs, indus- 
triously collecting trophies of the chase. 

As his asthmatic troubles had at last let go of him 
and his lungs had become strong under the influence 
of the climate, his parents gave their consent to his 
long-expressed wish to visit Germany. Partly on 
account of Dresden's splendid situation and partly on 
account of the advantages, which, according to English 
and American opinions, it offered for the education of 
children, it was selected as Theodore's stopping place. 
On the recommendation of the American consul, 
Theodore, as well as his brother Elliott and his sister 
Corinne, was placed under the care of Dr. Minkwitz, 
an alderman and a member of the Reichstag. As Dr. 
Minkwitz had to spend a large part of his time in 
Berlin on official duty, his wife had the burden of 
responsibility for the care of the children, and his 
daughter, Miss Anna Minkwitz, acted as teacher. 

The children, who were all beginners in German, 
studied Otto's "Method for Young English People 
Who Want to Learn German." Miss Minkwitz read 
with them short stories, and occasionally a poem, but 
above all she tried to help them by constant practice 
in speaking. Though Theodore was not exactly a 
splendid pupil, he showed an extraordinary talent for 
acquiring languages and wonderful adaptability to 

[22] 



FROM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

German conditions. He had been in Dresden only a 
short time when he gave a surprising proof of his 
knowledge of the language. The brother of Miss Mink- 
witz, who was a student at Leipzig, told one day in 
the course of his conversation a student joke at which 
all present laughed, and most of all Theodore Roose- 
velt. Miss Minkwitz was naturally astonished at his 
actions and asked him why he laughed. He then 
repeated the story in English and showed beyond 
doubt that he had grasped its point truly. How 
observant he was of what went on around him, the 
servant girl once found out to her sorrow. She had 
an admirer named Karl, of whom her employers had 
no knowledge, although she had been in their service 
several years. One can easily conjecture the surprise 
of the girl, and every one else, when Theodore greeted 
her one morning with, " Emily, ich bin Karl, ich Hebe 
dich." 

As his asthmatic troubles, which came back upon 
him time and again, made conversation with him diffi- 
cult, he had only a few friends. He found consolation 
for his misfortune, however, in books, over which he 
could forget himself and all about him. Miss Mink- 
witz could not have given him greater joy than she 
did by presenting him with a copy of the ' ' Nibelun- 
genlied." In it he came again in contact with the 
same characters with whom he had become familiar in 
English books. How deep was the impression made 
upon him by reading this German poem can be 

[23] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

learned from the pages of his own greatest work, ' ' The 
Winning of the West," in which he has quoted in 
middle-high German sentence after sentence from the 
" Nibelungenlied. ' ' Diller's " History of the German 
People " also attracted his attention, but of German 
poems he kept in memory only one : ' ' Above every- 
thing, one thing, my child, be faithful and true." 

Under the guidance of the painter and author, Weg- 
ener, he learned to draw. That Roosevelt later in life 
in the wilderness and at his farm on the Little Mis- 
souri was able to make such careful observations of 
the life and the habits of the animals is due in no small 
degree to this friendly old man, who on their frequent 
rambles had called his attention to the beauties of 
nature and had sharpened his eyes for all that goes 
on in the great out-of-doors. Brehm's " Life of Ani- 
mals " became to him a source of truest joy, for he 
had often dreamed of being a professor of natural 
history some day. 

This preference for things of the animal world 
seems, by the way, to be hereditary with the Roose- 
velts. The children of the president have also sur- 
rounded themselves with a whole menagerie of 
quadrupeds, as he tells us in his " Outdoor Pastimes 
of an American Hunter." Kangaroo rats and flying 
squirrels sleep in their pockets, go to school with them, 
and at times appear at table. 

One day at Dresden, Theodore made up his mind 
that he must have a mouse or a mole. As Miss Mink- 

[24] 



PROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

witz was unable to tell him where such things could 
be got, he set out on his own accord and soon found a 
store where white mice could be bought. He pur- 
chased a dead mole and a dead marmot and set out 
for home, swinging them triumphantly in his hands. 
He skinned the little animals at once and walked 
boldly into the kitchen and asked to boil them in Miss 
Minkwitz's pan. Miss Minkwitz did not approve the 
plan, however, and once again young Roosevelt was 
thrown upon his own resources, which, as before, were 
equal to the occasion. He built a hearth of brick and 
soon accomplished on the outside what he had been for- 
bidden to do in the kitchen, i. e., boil the flesh from 
the bones in order to put them together as a skeleton. 
His zeal for collecting was apparent in other ways, 
for instance, peculiar coins. One day in the family 
circle, some one spoke of the withdrawal from circula- 
tion of a certain Hanoverian-Brunswick coin, stamped 
with the figure of a jumping horse. That afternoon 
as Miss Minkwitz was walking with her charge 
through the streets, she was horrified beyond measure 
to see him reach into the money chest of an apple- 
vendor. The owner of the money chest very naturally 
supposed that the little rascal was wanting to steal, 
and the passers-by were coming to her rescue, when 
Theodore, not the least shaken in composure, brought 
forth his own purse and by motion of his hand urged 
the woman to help herself every time he took a coin 
from her box. Had he not then as a boy showed that 

[25] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

cool-headedness which so distinguished him in later 
life, the future president might have carried to Amer- 
ica a not very agreeable reminiscence of Germany. 

Though the boy was daily sitting industriously at 
his books and was absorbed deeply in the German 
classics, he did not neglect walking through the fields 
and woods, a habit that had become dear to him at 
Sagamore Hill. He soon felt himself at home in the 
neighborhood of Dresden, and wandered through 
Saxon Switzerland in every direction. 

After the Roosevelt children had been for several 
months in the home of Dr. Minkwitz, their mother 
came to take them on a journey through Switzerland. 
In the company of their teacher, they visited Augs- 
burg, Lindau, the Genfer Lake, Samaden, and the 
Engadine, and in this way became acquainted with a 
large territory of the German race. It was on this 
trip that young Theodore again showed the bent of 
his mind in a characteristic manner. At Samaden, 
the luggage had all been placed in the wagon, the occu- 
pants had taken their seats and were ready to start, 
when an attendant stepped up to the wagon with an 
armful of Theodore's clothes, which he had thrown 
out of his trunk as trifles, to make room for some 
stones which he had collected. Mrs. Roosevelt ordered 
the stones to be taken out and the clothes packed in 
the trunk. After which, Theodore jumped out and 
put as many of the stones as he could carry into his 
pockets. Unfortunately it was only a small part of 

[26] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the treasure. Although he went away with an aching 
heart, he restrained his grief and let no one know how 
serious a thing the matter was to him. 

After finishing the tour of Switzerland, the children 
remained some time longer in Dresden, in order to 
recover from fatigue and to digest the fresli impres- 
sions which the sight of the Alps had awakened in 
them. During this time Theodore suffered more than 
usual and was a constant care to his attendants. But 
in spite of racking pain, he was always in good humor, 
and gratefully acknowledged every little act of kind- 
ness bestowed upon him. If his frank and joyful 
disposition, his loving heart and bright intellect had 
not already made him the darling of the Minkwitz 
family, he surely would have won all by the patience 
with which he bore his misfortune. Though lie was 
full of boyish pranks and often disturbed the quiet 
dignity of the Minkwitz home, he was always a favor- 
ite with the family. He knew the feeling they had for 
him and tried in every way to requite his kind friends 
for the love they gave him. He was studiously careful 
to do nothing that might distress them. For instance, 
when his mother visited them in Dresden, Elliott and 
Corinne remained for dinner with her at the hotel; 
but Theodore punctually appeared at the house of his 
foster parents and, out of regard for them, refused the 
seat at the table d'hote. This delicacy of feeling, 
which he often manifested as a boy, later became with 
him second nature. 

[27] 



FROM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Bad humor and peevishness, which we are accus- 
tomed to find in sick people, children and adults alike, 
were foreign to him. He was always full of fancy 
notions and showed even as a boy, the gift of real 
American humor, with which Mark Twain has made 
us familiar. An incident which happened at Dresden 
may serve as an illustration. Miss Minkwitz had gone 
with the children to the dentist. Theodore showed his 
teeth first, which the dentist found in excellent condi- 
tion. Neither did he discover anything wrong with 
Elliott's ; but he said that Corinne had a bad milk tooth 
which should be taken out at once, and asked her if 
he must do it. She declined, saying that she would 
pull it herself. After the dentist had advised her to 
get rid of it right away, Miss Minkwitz asked how 
much she owed him. " Fifteen dollars," quietly 
replied the doctor. Thunder-struck at the amount, 
she paid the bill and started home with the children. 

On the stairs, Theodore whispered: 

" Do you know, Miss Minkwitz, how much the money 
was worth ? " 

* ' No ! " she replied in disgust. 

' ' I Tl tell you : it was worth the face you made 
when you heard how much it was. I should be willing 
to give twice as much to see you make that face again. ' ' 

After the children had been in Germany about six 
months, Miss Minkwitz, in October, 1873, took them to 
England to meet their parents and to say good-bye to 
them before they sailed for America. The family was 

[28] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

soon again at Sagamore Hill, and life for young 
Theodore moved once more in its accustomed channel. 

Though the journey to Europe had widened con- 
siderably the perspective of Theodore and had made 
a deep and lasting impression on his mind, it had not 
the matured consequences which his parents had hoped 
for. Again he took up his studies to prepare himself 
for the university, and developed more and more into 
a veritable book-worm. With great zeal he plunged 
into the study of history. He soon knew the positions 
of the armies in every important battle that had ever 
been fought, knew the names of the leaders and the 
numerical strength of their respective divisions: in 
short, he was master of all the details of history no 
less than of the cardinal principles involved. One of 
his friends recently said that, if all the records of the 
Peloponnesian War were destroyed, Roosevelt could 
reproduce the entire campaign from memory. 

Gradually as he read, Ms national pride began to 
assert itself, when he saw that the deeds of young 
America measured up well with those of Europe. Just 
as formerly he had swallowed the tales of Reid and 
Cooper, he now drank in all the historical records he 
could lay his hands upon. He read deeply into the 
lives of the great men of his own country. Washing- 
ton, Lincoln, Grant, and other men of thought and 
action had a profound influence in shaping his conduct. 
They became the standard by which he measured his 
own work and moulded his ideals. 

[29] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

But again and again he was forced to face the fact 
that, on account of his physical weakness, he could not 
hope to render services equally great to his country. 
He said to himself that he would necessarily have to 
become strong if he were ever to be a man of their 
calibre, and he set himself to work for health with 
obstinate determination. He took up again his wan- 
derings through the quiet woods, which had formerly 
given him so much pleasure. When a boy, he had 
thought chiefly of the singing birds, but now he was 
attracted by the hunter's prey. With congenial 
friends he followed for days the trail of fleeing stags 
or climbed mountain peaks in search of wild sheep and 
goats. Night after night they slept under the bright 
stars or in a light tent of sail-cloth. Though it was 
hard for him at times, he ran long races with his 
friends, climbed the highest mountain tops to watch 
the sunrise, bathed in the clear, cold waters of moun- 
tain brooks and, as opportunity was afforded him, 
swam and rowed. He learned to use the gun with 
growing skill. In his " Outdoor Pastimes of an 
American Hunter, " * he tells of his first experience of 
the pleasures of the chase : 

" Two or three of us, all boys of fifteen or sixteen, had 
been enjoying what was practically our first experience in 
camping out, having gone out with two guides, Hank Martin 



* ' ' Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter, ' ' by Theo- 
dore Roosevelt. Copyright England and America, Charles 
Scribner's Sons. 

[30] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

and Mose Sawyer, from Paul Smith's on Lake St. Regis. 
My brother and cousin were fond of fishing and I was not, 
so I was deputed to try to bring in a deer. I had a double- 
barreled 12-bore gun, French pinfire, with which I had 
industriously collected specimens on a trip to Egypt and 
Palestine and on Long Island ; except for three or four 
enthralling but not oversuccessful days after woodcock and 
quail, I had done no game shooting. As to every healthy boy 
with a taste for out-door life, the Northern forests were to 
me a veritable land of enchantment. We were encamped by 
a stream among the tall pines, and I had enjoyed everything ; 
poling and paddling the boat, tramping through the woods, 
the cries of chickaree and chipmunk, of jay, woodpecker, 
chickadee, nuthatch, and cross-bill, which broke the forest's 
stillness ; and, above all, the great reaches of sombre woodland 
themselves. The heart-shaped footprints which showed where 
the deer had come down to drink and feed on the marshy 
edges of the water made my veins thrill ; and the nights 
around the flickering camp-fire seemed filled with romance. 

" My first experiment in jacking was a failure. The jack, 
a bark lantern, was placed upon a stick in the bow of the 
boat, and I sat in a cramped huddle behind it, while Mose 
Sawyer plied the paddle with noiseless strength and skill in 
the stern. I proved unable to respond even to the very 
small demand made upon me, for when we actually did come 
upon a deer I failed to see it, until it ran, when I missed 
it; and on the way back capped my misfortune by shooting 
a large owl which perched on a log projecting into the water, 
looking at the lantern with two glaring eyes. 

" All next day I was miserably conscious of the smothered 
disfavor of my associates, and when night fell was told I 
would have another chance to redeem myself. This time 
we started across a carry, the guide carrying the light boat, 
and launched it in a quiet little pond about a mile off. Dusk 
was just turning into darkness when we reached the edge of 
the little lake, which was perhaps a mile long by three-quarters 

[31] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

of a mile across, with indented shores. We did not push off 
for half an hour or so, until it was entirely dark; and then 
for a couple of hours we saw no deer. Nevertheless, I 
thoroughly enjoyed the ghostly, mysterious, absolutely silent 
night ride over the water. Not the faintest splash betrayed 
the work of the paddler. The boat glided stealthily alongshore, 
the glare of the lantern bringing out for one moment every 
detail of the forest growth on the banks, which the next 
second vanished into absolute blackness. Several times we saw 
muskrats swimming across the lane of light cut by the lantern 
through the darkness, and two or three times their sudden 
plunging and splashing caused my heart to leap. Once when 
we crossed the lake we came upon a loon floating buoyantly 
right out in the middle of it. It stayed there until we were 
within ten yards, so that I could see the minute outlines of 
the feathers and every movement of the eye. Then it swam 
off, but made no cry. At last, while crossing the mouth of 
a bay we heard a splashing sound among the lilies inshore, 
which even my untrained ears recognized as different from 
any of the other noises we had yet heard, and a jarring 
motion of the paddle showed that the paddler wished me to be 
on the alert. Without any warning, the course of the boat was 
suddenly changed, and I was aware that we were moving 
stern foremost. Then we swung around, and I could soon 
make out that we were going down the little bay. The 
forest-covered banks narrowed; then the marsh at the end 
was lighted up, and on its hither edge, knee-deep among the 
water-lilies, appeared the figure of a yearling buck still in 
the red. It stood motionless, gazing at the light with a 
curiosity wholly unmixed with alarm, and at the shot wheeled 
and fell at the water 's edge. We made up our mind to return 
to camp that night, as it was before midnight. I carried the 
buck and the torch, and the guide the boat, and the mile 
walk over the dim trail, occasionally pitching forward across 
a stump or root, was a thing to be remembered. It was my 
first deer, and I was very glad to get it; but although only 

[3?] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

a boy, I had sense enough to realize that it was not an 
experience worth repeating." 

At last the result of his determined struggle for 
health showed itself : his muscles grew firmer, and his 
power of endurance increased; his whole frame took 
on a more rigid attitude, and the attacks of his asth- 
matic troubles became less and less frequent, till 
gradually they disappeared altogether. But his 
weakness of eyes remained and forced him to wear 
spectacles constantly. Though, even as a boy he was 
not lacking in courage, he was compelled on account of 
his frail body to receive more blows than he was able 
to give, but now things were completely changed. It 
is true that he was and remained an entirely concilia- 
tory and good-natured comrade; but when he was 
teased or provoked he no longer waited till his oppo- 
nent fell upon him, but himself assumed the aggressive 
without hesitation. He acted upon the theory that he 
who deals the first blow always has the advantage. 
Though he may not be as strong as his opponent, his 
courageous attack, and the fact that he has dealt the 
first blow, gives him a kind of moral superiority. 
He has, at least, a chance to win, which seems from the 
beginning impossible when he confines himself to 
the defensive toward his stronger enemy. In later life 
whenever Roosevelt faced difficulties and dangers, he 
always tried to anticipate his opponents in the attack, 
and he has often won where, with a less bold method, 
defeat would have been certain. 

[33] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

If one had tried to foretell what the future had in 
store for Theodore Roosevelt in the days when he was 
in school, surely one would not have guessed, unless 
endowed with the gift of prophecy, that he would be 
the man to guide the destiny of the United States and 
to cause the eyes of the whole world to be turned 
repeatedly toward him. Nevertheless, as has hap- 
pened with other great men, people come forward who 
claim to have predicted the success of Theodore 
Roosevelt. It is reported that, while the Roosevelts 
were at Dresden, Mrs. Roosevelt expressed some 
anxiety to Miss Minkwitz as to what would become of 
her sickly boy; to which Miss Minkwitz replied: " Be 
not concerned as to that; he will surely be either a 
great professor, or perhaps even president of the 
United States." This " prophecy " is about equal to 
that which a teacher gave to the mother of a boy who 
had failed to make his grades in school : ' ' Calm your- 
self, madam ; if he works hard, he can yet make good, 
and perhaps become a cabinet minister some day." 
If such an extraordinary case should really occur some 
day, the teacher, who merely wished to console, might 
consider himself a prophet with the same right as Miss 
Minkwitz. Not only was he always ill, but he did not 
display unusual talent in any line of work. If one had 
been desirous at all of foretelling his future, the best 
that one could have said for him would have been that 
he would likely lead the life of a well-to-do citizen if he 
would take care of himself and carefully avoid exces- 

[34] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

sive exertions of all kinds. That things have turned 
out differently was beyond all calculations, and is to 
be attributed to the will-power of the man, which has 
enabled him to overcome all obstacles victoriously. 

Another prophecy which was made eleven years 
later (1884) can be understood easier. Theodore had 
then won his spurs, although he was only twenty-six 
years old. He had developed into a strong man and 
was a member of the New York legislature. When the 
National Convention met at Chicago, some one 
expressed surprise at the age of Roosevelt; to whom 
George William Curtis replied : 

" You '11 know more, sir, later; a deal more, or I am 
much in error. Young ? Why, he is just out of school 
almost, yet he is a force to be reckoned with in New 
York. Later the Nation will be criticising or praising 
him. While respectful to the gray hairs and experi- 
ence of his elders, none of them can move him an iota 
from convictions as to men and measures once formed 
and rooted. He has integrity, courage, fair scholar- 
ship, a love for public life, a comfortable amount of 
money, honorable descent, the good word of the honest. 
He will not truckle nor cringe, he seems to court oppo- 
sition to the point of being somewhat pugnacious. His 
political life will probably be a turbulent one, but he 
will be a figure, not a figurehead, in future develop- 
ment — or, if not, it will be because he gives up politics 
altogether. ' ' 

Roosevelt himself in those earlier times did not 

[35] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

think that he should ever rise as high as he did. It 
had been his ideal as a boy to become a teacher, of 
course a teacher of natural history. As he walked 
through the woods and fields, he studied carefully 
animal and plant life with the zeal of a young natural- 
ist ; but, as time went on, the enthusiasm of his youth 
passed away and his dreams of a career as a scientist 
gave place to others of a different nature. A few 
years ago, one of his friends, Julian Ralph, asked him 
what as a boy he had wished to be. To which Mr. 
Roosevelt replied: "I do not remember that I 
dreamed or made plans at all. I simply obeyed the 
command, ' What your hands find to do, do it with all 
your strength,' so I took upon myself everything as 
it came, just as it came. Later on I have stuck to Lin- 
coln's motto, ' Do the best, or at least the best 
possible.' " 

Helped by the advice and the example of an experi- 
enced father, Roosevelt at an early age became con- 
vinced that nothing is to be gained by dreaming, by 
the building of air castles. He forced himself to do 
thoroughly everything that he undertook, though it 
was hard for him at times. When he worked, he put 
his whole soul into what he was doing, and when he 
played, he played with the same energy and deter- 
mination. In this way, he was always able to accom- 
plish what he set himself to do. No doubt there were 
others as intelligent as he, others who could grasp 
things as quickly or more quickly than he, and others 

[36] 



FBOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

stronger and more skilful, but his intrepid courage 
and the tenacity with which he tried again and again 
anything at which he had once failed, secured for him 
recognition as a leader. He exercised body and mind 
in equal degree, and, when he entered the university 
at the age of eighteen, he bore the reputation of a 
thorough, conscientious student, and an able and fear- 
less boxer and wrestler. 

A little episode, harmless in itself, which occurred 
during his school years, should not remain unmen- 
tioned, because it was continued later on. Like many 
a German Primaner (a student of the German Gym- 
nasium, a school equal to our high school and college) 
Theodore Roosevelt had his school-love. The girl was 
Edith Carow, who attended the same school with him. 
Her father was a merchant, her mother the daughter 
of General Tyler of Connecticut. For years the 
children had studied and played together, and when 
any other boy tried to tease her, Theodore was always 
her knight and protector, if we are to accept the testi- 
mony of his own brother, Elliott. The friendship was 
temporarily interrupted when Roosevelt went to the 
university and Miss Carow to another school. But in 
after years when the storms of life bore heavily on the 
young man, he found in Edith Carow, his school-love, 
his companion for life. 



[»] 



CHAPTER II 

AT THE UNTVEKSITY 

THE same year that the centenary of American 
Independence was celebrated, Theodore Roose- 
velt, tall and pale, entered Harvard University. He 
rented rather modest quarters, consisting of a large 
front room and a small back room in which he slept. 
On the walls, he hung his gun and hunting outfit. The 
heads of deer, stuffed birds, and other trophies of the 
chase betrayed the hunter and lover of nature. Living 
animals of various descriptions also found a home 
with him. A large turtle of beautiful species, which a 
friend had given him, at one time upset the whole 
household by escaping from her cage and taking 
refuge, during the night, in the bath-room. 

On account of his open, frank nature, Mr. Roose- 
velt soon became a favorite with his classmates, 
though at first he was laughed at for his Puritanic 
honesty and sincerity. He seemed to his companions 
too stiff, old-fashioned, and strait-laced. But later 
when they learned that he was deadly in earnest in all 
that he said and did, and was never afraid to call a 
spade a spade, a feeling of respect for the new student 
took hold of his companions. Though they often 

[38] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

looked upon him as eccentric, they gradually learned 
to love him and to entrust themselves to his leader- 
ship. 

He had his own opinion of the social ethics of the 
university. That certain things had always been 
done, was for him no proof that they should be done. 
He did not approach a subject in a thoughtless, acqui- 
escent way, but took the liberty to think and to 
examine into it for himself. When a thing seemed 
good to him, he expressed his satisfaction with it, 
otherwise he dismissed it from his mind. Once his 
classmates were beside themselves when he coolly 
brought his bride into a club where a woman had 
never been before. He saw no reason why the women 
should stay away, and his companions, after much 
discussion, came to the same conclusion. 

He tested, also, in the same manner the teachings 
of his professors, and often argued with them for 
hours, for he could not rest contented till they had 
proved to him that he was in the wrong or they had 
acknowledged their own mistake. His habit of view- 
ing everything with a critical eye and of inflexibly 
sticking to what he believed to be right — which some 
called stubbornness — did not help in the least to 
remove from him the stigma of a queer fellow. But 
he seemed indifferent to the opinions of others. The 
free life of his boyhood had given him a high measure 
of self-esteem. He knew that he could depend upon 
himself and was never afraid to stand alone. He at 

[39] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

times even broke the conventional in dress, and toward 
the close of his college course wore a short beard — 
which, by the way, is said to have improved his appear- 
ance. Quite often his classmates mocked him on 
account of his enthusiasm, which easily broke out in 
his study of Elizabethan poetry. Although the Har- 
vard men of the ordinary type considered him ' ' more 
or less crazy " by reason of these peculiarities, his 
thorough and extensive knowledge and his command- 
ing independence won their admiration. 

The intellectual qualifications which Mr. Roosevelt 
carried with him to Cambridge were the very best ; a 
high sense of duty, a keen enjoyment of work, a hearty 
detestation of inactivity and laziness, and above all, 
the ability to direct his whole mind to anything that 
he had in hand and to forget everything else in the 
performance of the given task, a gift which he still 
possesses to a remarkable degree. When he read a 
book, he did not exactly read, but he lived through it. 
A story is told of him at Harvard which illustrates 
this. One day he went into a friend's room on a visit. 
Hardly had they greeted each other when Theodore 
noticed a book on the table which was new to him. He 
opened it and began to read. In vain his friend tried 
to start a conversation in the hope of learning what 
his strange visitor was after. Roosevelt heard noth- 
ing more; his thoughts were in the book. Suddenly 
he arose, looked at his watch and to his chagrin found 
that he had no more time. He seized his hat, said 

[40 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

good-bye and hastened away. His friend called after 
him but to no avail. 

His great power of concentration was very helpful 
to him in the discussion of controverted questions. 
Under the heat of debate, people get away at times 
involuntarily from the point at issue, and dispute 
about things which have nothing to do with the orig- 
inal proposition and upon which they were in the 
beginning agreed. Such a course of argument was 
impossible with Roosevelt. He did not digress, he 
took no side-leaps, and would not tolerate it in others. 
Once at a certain meeting, some one made a long- 
winded report of which he was very proud and which 
pleased all the others very much, but Mr. Roosevelt 
arose suddenly and began: "Mr. Chairman: I have 
listened attentively, but as far as I can see, the things 
winch Mr. X has talked about have no more to do with 
the matter in question than the man in the moon. It 
is — " He did not proceed further, for a tumult arose, 
and the chairman never learned what ' ' it " was. 

The aims of an American university do not coincide 
with those of the German university. The German 
university is satisfied if it crams into the minds of the 
young men the greatest amount possible of the dry 
bones of human wisdom ; but the American university 
is not content till it has entered the inner sanctum of 
the student's soul, dictated his ideals and moulded 
his character. The German student feels that he has 
done his duty to his alma mater when he has regis- 

[41] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

tered regularly, has heard the lectures through the 
prescribed number of years, and he rests with an easy 
conscience when he has received his certificate. In 
other words, no restraint is exercised over him ; he is 
at liberty to work or not to work, to listen or not to 
listen while the professor delivers his lecture. He 
may even read something foreign to the lecture being 
given or occupy himself in the study of some pet the- 
ory of his own. When the clock points to the hour 
for the lecture to close, he goes home and the univer- 
sity does not care how he spends his time. The aca- 
demic freedom allowed permits the student to drink 
as little or as much as he wishes at the fountains of 
human knowledge. The German university declines 
to regulate the academic life of the young men, and 
she does not in the least think of holding herself re- 
sponsible for the development of their character. A 
student may stuff himself with all kinds of knowledge, 
and grow into a man who has not the least under- 
standing of the world about him; he may be totally 
incapable of meeting the emergencies of life, and may 
leave the university without ever having really coined 
an independent thought. 

Not so in the American university. The university 
or college does not, as in Germany, serve the profes- 
sional schools. The university in America is the 
place where young men and young women go to get a 
general education. The university education pre- 
cedes that of the professional schools, such as law, 

[421 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

medicine, engineering, ministry. Even at such a 
large university as Harvard, which enrolls five thou- 
sand students and employs five hundred and fifty in- 
structors, the young people come in much closer contact 
with each other and with the teachers than with us. 
Habitual cutting of classes is rare, for every one who 
wishes to be promoted to a higher class must submit 
to a thorough examination in all his studies. The 
course of every class lasts one year, and he who has 
passed successfully the examination of the fourth class 
receives the degree Bachelor of Arts. Though the stu- 
dents may choose freely within the prescribed courses, 
they are still more confined in their election than their 
German cousins. 

The American universities are not only the temples 
of knowledge but they are also the recognized nurs- 
eries of all kinds of manly sports. They ask of their 
graduates not only a certain amount of learning, but 
also physical skill, fearless and pleasant bearing in 
social intercourse. And since the universities give the 
opportunity for acquiring these things, we may safely 
conclude that the American university solves a more 
complex and comprehensive problem than the univer- 
sities of Germany. Every Harvard man who wants 
to make progress must economize his time. One half 
— surely by far the greater — belongs to serious 
work, the other to play and social enjoyment, which 
enables the university to turn out symmetrical men as 
well as scholars. 

[43] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The class to which Theodore Roosevelt belonged 
numbered about one hundred and seventy. In class 
standing he always had a place among the first 
twenty. History, in the most general sense of the 
term, was what attracted him, the history of animals 
as well as of men. He even thought at the time of de- 
voting himself to natural history ; but gradually in the 
course of his four years he felt his interest shift some- 
what. The deeds of men became to him of greater 
importance as time went on, and absorbed to a 
degree his interest in natural history. Through the 
reading of the " Federalist," a book on the Constitu- 
tion of the United States by Hamilton, Madison, and 
Jay, and the writings and deeds of Washington and 
other great statesmen, he was introduced to the politi- 
cal problems of his country. Though, while in school, 
he never lost entirely his love for things of natural sci- 
ence, and even wrote a thesis in his senior year upon a 
subject of natural history, his boyhood dream of de- 
voting his life to biological science definitely vanished. 
" Plutarch's Lives " became his favorite book, a copy 
of which he carried in his pocket and from which he 
read at odd moments. No doubt he read and reread 
the same thing for the thousandth time, but he said 
himself that he could never learn too much from those 
great biographies. 

During his school days, he was always faithful to 
his every duty, however small. His classmates often 
wondered at his endurance and zeal. That a task was 

[441 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

disagreeable did not deter him in the least from un- 
dertaking it, and what he undertook he successfully 
carried through to the finish. He must have been 
very industrious while at the university, for it was 
there that he laid the foundation for the broad and com- 
prehensive knowledge which is his to-day. He speaks, 
or at least understands, almost all the European lan- 
guages; the history, past and current, of Europe is 
familiar to him in detail ; he is conversant with Ameri- 
can affairs, especially with those of the United States. 
On natural history he is regarded as an expert, and 
sometimes as an authority; and the scientific way in 
which he has written of his hunting trips has given to 
them uncommon attraction and value. It seems that 
every book which fell into his hands had such a fasci- 
nation for him that he got from it without seeming 
effort everything of real worth. 

Although he worked very hard in order to satisfy 
his thirst for knowledge, he enjoyed keenly rest and 
recreation. The idyllic little city of Cambridge is 
separated from Boston only by the Charles River, 
which is spanned by numerous bridges, so that the stu- 
dents of Harvard can easily partake of the social life 
of the metropolis of New England. Mr. Roosevelt, 
on account of his enthusiastic, impetuous nature and 
his good-humored indifference to the prejudices and 
old-fashioned customs of the quaint old place, was a 
welcome guest at the distinguished homes of Boston. 

Over his classmates, Mr. Roosevelt exercised a great 

[45] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

influence. On his advice, the jumping of a tight rope 
was revived, although the sport had been in disuse for 
years, for he called attention to the fact that by it the 
thigh muscles were strengthened in a high degree. 
On the playground, the boys were accustomed to wear 
red stockings, but Mr. Roosevelt had bought a pair 
with red and white stripes. When he appeared upon 
the field in them, there was a general shaking of the 
head — but he wore the socks just the same. In his 
opinion, the color of the stockings was of no conse- 
quence whatever, but the strength and activity of the 
legs within them was the all-important thing. 

Into all the sports at Cambridge, he entered enthu- 
siastically. He played polo and rowed; wrestled and 
boxed ; sailed and hunted ; and almost every afternoon 
drove in a high-wheeled cart which he had bought for 
his own use. He was especially fond of boxing, and 
met all comers small and large. When he was sorely 
punished by his adversary and when blood flowed 
freely and when his spectacles were knocked off, he 
still did not think of quitting. Stubbornly he would 
keep at it till both contestants were worn out or the 
match was declared off by those on the side-line. In 
such contests he was really at disadvantage, for he had 
to wear large, heavy glasses, which were easily knocked 
off, to say nothing of the breaking of the glasses and of 
his possible injury for life. He liked the excitement 
of the contest and did not once give a passing thought 
to the danger connected with it. 

[46] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

With a frank and chivalrous spirit, he always took 
it for granted that every one wished to observe the 
rules of the game. A story is told to this effect. Soon 
after Roosevelt entered school, an adversary, with 
whom he was to try a match, struck him a body blow 
before the sign had been given to begin the fight, even 
before Roosevelt got his gloves on. A protest went up 
from the on-lookers, but Theodore only smiled in his 
grim way and said, ' ' I believe that you are mistaken ; 
that is n't the custom with us. " Then he himself gave 
the sign for the opening of the fight, by bowing and 
shaking hands with his opponent. In the next moment 
his right hand crashed upon the chin of his adversary, 
his left hand followed it up, and in a few minutes the 
fight was over; and Roosevelt was the undisputed 
victor. 

In this instance, he beat an adversary who had the 
reputation of an able boxer; but he was not always 
so successful. He really did not indulge in the sport 
for the sport's sake, but he entered it as a means of 
developing his own strength. He was not considered 
one of the best fighters of his class, which was the 
champion of the arena, but all knew that he was an 
opponent who was not to be despised. He was not 
averse to strenuous exercise, though he never carried 
it to the point of exhaustion. In this way, he was able 
to get all the enjoyment from the sport without any of 
the attendant evils. 

Mr. Roosevelt had many other demands upon his 

[47] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

time while at the university. Americans expect that 
an educated man shall be able to express himself, if 
not fluently, at least with intelligence and some degree 
of power. It is for this reason that a student is sup- 
posed to spend a great deal more time than is de- 
manded by us in direct effort to acquire the art of 
public speaking. The numerous literary and debating 
societies and clubs offer abundant practice in oral ex- 
pression. And every student of the university is a 
member of at least one such organization and fre- 
quently is connected with a half-dozen. Eoosevelt 
had his share of these courses of the unwritten curric- 
ulum and did his part in them conscientiously. Though 
he was not considered a good speaker, he spoke when- 
ever the occasion demanded and spoke flat-footed to 
the point. 

To club life, he owed his first promptings to literary 
activities. In the last year at Harvard, he was asso- 
ciate editor of a university paper, The Advocate. 
The extent of his editorial work cannot be stated with 
exactness, but the article from which the following 
sentence is taken is surely from his pen : ' ' What is 
most necessary is that every one should see the im- 
portance of doing a definite amount of honest and seri- 
ous work every evening." 

Since he found time on Sundays, in spite of his va- 
rious activities, which he could not spend profitably, 
he tried to get to teach a class of children in a Sunday- 
school. The Roosevelt family had always belonged 

[48] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

to the Dutch Reformed Church, and Mr. Roosevelt, 
who had died the year his son went to Cambridge, had 
seen to it that his children attended church regularly. 
Sometimes the sermons seemed long and tiresome, but 
nevertheless they did not dare to act against their 
father's wishes. 

There was no Dutch Reformed church in Cambridge 
at the time, but numerous others of various faiths. 
The most of his friends belonged to the Episcopal 
Church, and without further ado, Roosevelt set to work 
as a Sabbath-school teacher. Frankly and seriously 
he talked with the boys and girls and showed them how 
a man should live, till an unforeseen event brought 
his work to a close. 

One day a boy appeared in the class with a black 
eye. Mr. Roosevelt drew from him the particulars 
that he had endured a severe thrashing. It appeared 
that another boy had teased the boy's sister, that he 
had gone to her rescue in a heroic fashion, but that his 
opponent was too much for him and he came out of the 
scrap badly worsted. Mr. Roosevelt praised the boy 
for his bravery and nobility and gave him a dollar. 
Though this action seemed to the children to be one 
of the highest justice, the church officials did not look 
upon it in that way. They did not believe in praising 
a boy who had been fighting; they would have pre- 
ferred to punish him themselves. They were not ex- 
actly in accord with the healthy Christianity which 
Roosevelt was teaching, and seized as a pretext to oust 

[49] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

him that he was a member of another church. As 
Roosevelt was not acquainted with the creed of the 
church, he frequently had done things that offended 
those with whom he was laboring. When he was asked 
if he had any objections to the rules of the church, he 
very truthfully replied that he was willing to do any- 
thing that was demanded of him. But the gentlemen 
could not get over the fact that he was a member of 
the Dutch Reformed Church, and had praised a boy for 
fighting ; and, with rather formal expressions of regret 
on the part of both, Mr. Roosevelt severed his connec- 
tion with the Sunday-school and church. He went 
over to a near-by Congregational church and contin- 
ued his teaching till he left the university. 

The classmates of Mr. Roosevelt held him in high 
esteem. One has expressed the opinion of all of them 
as follows : i * He has always been sincere ; never did 
he try to deceive himself or others, but he made it a 
rule to speak openly what he thought." They ad- 
mired and honored him for his sterling worth and 
his energetic manner of doing things. They remem- 
ber with pleasure how he jumped from a second-story 
window in his night-gown in order to care for a horse 
which had become restless in its stall and had quieted 
the horse before his companions had reached the scene. 
They knew that falsehood, cowardice, and low instincts 
were entirely foreign to his nature, but that he was 
capable of an enthusiasm which they frequently at- 
tributed to a lack of self-control. When he accepted 

[50] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the plan of a friend to go to Greenland for the purpose 
of studying the animals there, or when he, in all seri- 
ousness, considered making the trip to India to hunt 
tigers with his brother Elliott, his friends thought him 
eccentric, although his preparations were made after 
calm reflection. His brother, who really made the 
trip, he has termed in his works, " a mighty hunter 
and truest friend." 

After finishing his studies, Mr. Roosevelt married, 
Oct. 27, 1880, Alice, the daughter of George Cabot 
and Caroline Lee of Boston. On his wedding trip, he 
visited once more Germany and Switzerland, ascended 
the Jungfrau and the Matterhorn, and was elected a 
member of the London Alps Club on account of his 
fearless mountain climbing. But he soon tired of the 
sport and returned to New York. 



[511 



CHAPTER III 

IN THE STREAM OF POLITICS 

WHEN Mr. Roosevelt again set foot on American 
soil, he seemed more and more to drive toward 
the port in which so many educated and rich people 
anchor: the port of comfortable life, devoted to per- 
sonal inclinations. He travelled, hunted deer and 
bear whenever an opportunity was given, and came to 
know pretty thoroughly the " Wild West." Nor did 
he at all avoid the allurements of the refined, social 
world. 

But an inner desire drove him constantly to an ac- 
tive life. While he was still a student at Harvard, he 
was greatly attracted to James's " Naval History of 
Great Britain," especially the chapters dealing with 
the relation of England to the United States. It 
seemed strange to him at the time that James should 
have allowed certain errors to creep into his book on 
the subject of the War of 1812, and that he should not 
maintain at all times the judicial attitude of an un- 
biassed historian. The more closely he examined into 
the history of the times the more convinced he became 
that America had not received a square deal in 
James's account, that James was " a bitter and not 

[52] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

over-conscientious author." On the other hand, he 
found in Cooper's " History of the United States 
Navy " the same shortcomings, with the exception 
that Cooper praised the Americans at the expense of 
the English. As the historical events of that period 
seemed to him to be worthy of a thorough, impartial 
investigation, he set himself to the task. During the 
two years following his graduation, he worked at his 
" Naval War of 1812 "; the book appeared in 1882, 
and can be found to-day in the library of every Ameri- 
can warship. 

After his return from his wedding tour in Europe, 
Mr. Roosevelt had frequent conversations with his 
uncle, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, who had accumu- 
lated quite a little wealth and who had devoted himself 
entirely to politics. He repeatedly urged Theodore 
to study law, he urged it as a duty which a young man 
owes to his country. At last, while they were on a 
hunting trip, his uncle succeeded in convincing him that 
he ought to enter the law. He therefore entered a 
law school and plunged with his old-time zeal into the 
science of law and politics. 

Though thus far he had followed his uncle's advice, 
he had not the slightest inclination to make his uncle 's 
political views his own. Robert Barnwell Roosevelt 
was an ardent Democrat, and tried to draw his nephew 
into that camp. Theodore's father and forefathers, 
as far as he could learn, had been stanch supporters 
of the Republican party, and he refused point blank to 

[53] 



FKOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

cast his fortunes with the Democrats. In the year 
1881, he took part in his first political meeting. Up to 
this time he had gone around in an aimless sort of 
fashion, occupied with his historical writings, general 
study, and hunting; that night, at that Republican 
meeting, he found his life work. Many a one would 
have been disgusted with the unattractiveness of such a 
party convention ; but Roosevelt saw in the mixed com- 
pany there assembled, the foundation of free govern- 
ment, a mighty power, which, if properly directed, 
could be made productive of much good. For a young- 
man of Roosevelt's high moral sense and courageous 
nature, it must have been very fascinating to imagine 
how, through his own efforts in behalf of the masses, 
the demagogues could be overthrown and victory 
brought to the people. Greater and greater became his 
interest in practical politics as the days went by and he 
saw more clearly the manifold evils which had crept 
into the administration of the affairs of state. 

In this connection, it is interesting to recall the sen- 
timents to which he later gave voice : * 

" We have in this country an equality of rights. It is the 
plain duty of every man to see that his rights are respected. 
That weak good-nature which acquiesces in wrong-doing, 
whether from laziness, timidity, or indifference, is a very 
unwholesome quality. It should be second nature with every 
man to insist that he he given full justice. But if there is 



* From " American Ideals," by Theodore Roosevelt. Copy- 
right G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London. 

[541 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

an equality of rights, there is an equality of duties. It is 
proper to demand more from the man with exceptional 
advantages than from the man without them. A heavy moral 
obligation rests upon the man of means and upon the man 
of education to do their full duty by their country. On no 
class does this obligation rest more heavily than upon the 
men with a collegiate education, the men who are graduates 
of our universities. Their education gives them no right to 
feel the least superiority over any of their fellow-citizens; 
but it certainly ought to make them feel that they should 
stand foremost in the honorable effort to serve the whole 
public by doing their duty as Americans in the body politic. 
This obligation very possibly rests even more heavily upon 
the men of means; but of this it is not necessary now to 
speak. The men of mere wealth never can have and never 
should have the capacity for doing good work that is possessed 
by the men of exceptional mental training; but that they 
may become both a laughing-stock and a menace to the 
community is made unpleasantly apparent by that portion 
of the New York business and social world which is most in 
evidence in the newspapers. 

" To the great body of men who have had exceptional 
advantages in the way of educational facilities we have a 
right, then, to look for good service to the State. The service 
may be rendered in many different ways. In a reasonable 
number of cases, the man may himself rise to high political 
position. That men actually do so rise is shown by the 
number of graduates of Harvard, Yale, and our other 
universities who are now taking a prominent part in public 
life. These cases must necessarily, however, form but a 
small part of the whole. The enormous majority of our 
educated men have to make their own living, and are obliged 
to take up careers in which they must work heart and soul 
to succeed. Nevertheless, the man of business and the man 
of science, the doctor of divinity and the doctor of law, the 
architect, the engineer, and the writer, all alike owe a 

[55] 



FROM ROUGH EIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

positive duty to the community, the neglect of which they 
cannot excuse on any plea of their private affairs. They are 
bound to follow understandingly the course of public events ; 
they are bound to try to estimate and form judgment upon 
public men; and they are bound to act intelligently and 
effectively in support of the principles which they deem to 
be right and for the best interests of the country. 

' ' The most important thing for this class of educated men 
to realize is that they do not really form a class at all. I have 
used the word in default of another, but I have merely used 
it roughly to group together people who have had unusual 
opportunities of a certain kind. A large number of the 
people to whom these opportunities are offered fail to take 
advantage of them, and a very much larger number of those 
to whom they have not been offered succeed none the less in 
making them for themselves. An educated man must not go 
into politics as such ; he must go in simply as an American ; 
and when he is once in, he will speedily realize that he must 
work very hard indeed, or he will be upset by some other 
American, with no education at all, but with much natural 
capacity. 

• •••••• 

" The first great lesson which the college graduate should 
learn is the lesson of work rather than of criticism. Criticism 
is necessary and useful ; it is often indispensable ; but it can 
never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute 
for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate 
usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in 
the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says 
how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing 
the stress and the danger. 

• ••*••• 

" Again, there is a certain tendency in college life, a 
tendency encouraged by some of the very papers referred 
to, to make educated men shrink from contact with the 
rough people who do the world's work, and associate only 
with one another and with those who think as they do. This 

[56] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

is a most dangerous tendency. It is very agreeable to 
deceive one's self into the belief that one is performing the 
whole duty of man by sitting at home in ease, doing nothing 
wrong, and confining one's participation in politics to con- 
versations and meetings with men who have had the same 
training and look at things in the same way. It is always 
a temptation to do this, because those who do nothing else 
often speak as if in some way they deserved credit for their 
attitude, and as if they stood above their brethren who plough 
the rough fields. Moreover, many people whose political 
work is done more or less after this fashion are very noble, 
and very sincere in their aims and aspirations, and are 
striving for what is best and most decent in public life. 

" Nevertheless, this is a snare round which it behooves 
every young man to walk carefully. Let him beware of 
associating only with the people of his own caste and of his 
own little ways of political thought. Let him learn that he 
must deal with the mass of men ; that he must go out and 
stand shoulder to shoulder with his friends of every rank, 
and face to face with his foes of every rank, and must bear 
himself well in the hurly-burly. He must not be frightened 
by the many unpleasant features of the contest, and he must 
not expect to have it all his own way, or to accomplish too 
much. He will meet with checks and will make many mis- 
takes; but if he perseveres, he will achieve a measure of 
success and will do a measure of good such as is never possible 
to the refined, cultivated, intellectual men who shrink aside 
from the actual fray." 

Many things worked together to force Mr. Eoosevelt 
into a political career. Above all he longed for a defi- 
nite, active employment, for a steady profession which 
would take up his whole time. He wished at the same 
time to render some service to his fellow citizens, and 
he saw in politics an opportunity for doing that. His 

[57] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

young wife and his uncle did all in their power to 
increase his interest in politics, but it was a personal 
consideration that finally drove him into action. A 
short time ago in reply to a question of a friend, he 
said : " I entered politics because I wished to belong 
to the governing class, not to the governed. ' ' His mind 
was already in the proper condition when his friends 
asked him if he did not want to become a candidate for 
the legislature from the district of Murray Hill. The 
suggestion was all that was necessary and the fight was 
on at once in the Eoosevelt fashion. 

The political institutions of the United States are in 
many respects similar to those of Germany. Just as 
Germany has her Eeichstag and her Bundesrat, the 
United States have a House of Representatives (386 
members) and a Senate (90 members) which together 
they call Congress. The Prussian House of Repre- 
sentatives and House of Lords correspond respectively 
to the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 
forty-five States. The representatives of the State 
legislatures are elected by the people for a term of two 
years, sometimes for only one. It will be seen that 
the Senate differs from the Prussian House of Lords in 
that the members are also chosen by the people. 

Mr. Roosevelt was, therefore, a candidate for the 
lower house of the General Assembly of New York. 
The district was in safe control of the Republican 
party, the leaders of which, not the voters, decided 
who should represent the district at Albany, the seat of 

[ 58 ] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

the State government. They always chose men agree- 
able to themselves, men who would dance as they whis- 
tled. A man of the Roosevelt type, a man who had a 
mind of his own and who did not go to headquarters 
for his orders as to what he should do, did not suit them 
at all. Mr. Roosevelt had to fight from the first that 
powerful combination of office-seekers and easy-berth 
men who had fattened on the spoils of politics for years 
and were not inclined to step aside for a young upstart. 
But Roosevelt was not in the least dismayed by the 
opposition, but threw himself into the campaign with 
all the zeal of his fighting nature. 

The people wanted a man who favored clean streets, 
and Roosevelt promised not only clean streets but clean 
politics as well. Even " Boss " Hess was compelled 
to acknowledge that Roosevelt was in the race as a 
candidate of the Republican party, and undertook the 
task of introducing him to the voters of the district. 

But this fatherly good-will was not of long duration. 
In the first saloon which they entered, they were 
received very cordially by the owner, who believed, and 
gave expression to his belief, that Mr. Roosevelt would 
favor low liquor license; but Roosevelt happened to 
think a high license desirable, and so expressed him- 
self in no mistakable terms to the owner. "Boss ,T 
Hess did not understand that way of losing votes ; and, 
being convinced that Roosevelt would be defeated at 
the polls, he bade him good-bye and went home. 

It soon became apparent, however, that Hess and his 

[59] 






FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

friends were mistaken. Mr. Roosevelt 's plan met with 
general approval among the better class of people. 
His simple and yet enthusiastic speeches impressed 
men who otherwise cared little for politics, and when 
the election day came, there was presented in Murray 
Hill the rare spectacle of millionaires buying the votes 
of their coachmen and servants, and staid professors 
distributing ballots. People who had never spoken 
to each other before suddenly became neighbors and 
worked jointly for Eoosevelt. And although, contrary 
to custom, he did not "treat" any one but trusted 
solely to the justness of his cause, Mr. Roosevelt, a 
young man of twenty-three years, was elected by a 
large majority. 

Among the hundred and twenty-eight members of 
the House of Representatives, Mr. Roosevelt occu- 
pied from the first an important position. All pro- 
fessions and callings were represented there, from the 
lawyer, the merchant, and the farmer, down to the 
saloon-keeper, the prize-fighter, and the day-laborer. 
Though politics united them all, there was between 
Mr. Roosevelt and all these men a vast difference. Al- 
most every one of them had taken upon himself some 
kind of obligation in order to secure his election; he 
had to represent the interests of those who had sent 
him to the legislature; that is, not the voters but the 
boss and the little group to which he owed his seat in 
the General Assembly. If he acted contrary to the 
orders of these men, who often cared nothing for the 

[60] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

welfare of the State at large nor even for the people 
of the district, he was at once notified that he had no 
chance of reelection. If he owed his election to the 
support of the railroad men, he must see that laws 
were enacted favorable to the great transportation 
companies. If he had run on a liquor platform, he 
must always work for the interests of the breweries, 
the needs of the State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Such trickery in legislation is made easy by the 
committee system, which is very popular in America. 
Every bill which comes before the house is sent to a 
committee after the first reading. If the bill is objec- 
tionable to any member, he makes a fight against it 
before the committee, which is not usually very care- 
ful to consider the merits of a proposed law, as their 
deliberations are secret. A large majority of the bills 
introduced die in the committee room, and many of 
them are introduced merely to satisfy the pledge of 
some member without any serious intent of making it 
a law. All laws designed to curb the power of corpora- 
tions usually go that way. A clique can defeat objec- 
tionable legislation by a free use of money in the 
committee. 

A member who has no particular interest in a bill 
is usually careful not to favor it, especially if any of 
his colleagues wish to have the motion buried. He 
rather takes calmly the bribe, which is given him more 
or less openly, and rests assured of similar support if 
his own interests are at stake. On the other hand, if 

[61] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

a bill is to pass, it is reported back favorably to the 
house from the committee, and usually passes without 
a hitch, as a way has already been prepared for it. 
And so things go at Washington as well as at Albany, 
and in every one of the forty-five State legislatures. 
Everybody, or at least almost everybody, looks after 
the interest of his own favorites and forgets the wel- 
fare of the masses of the people. 

But herein lay the difference between Mr. Eoosevelt 
and the other members of that body at Albany. He 
belonged to the Republican party, but not to its bosses. 
He had been elected against the wishes of the czars 
of Murray Hill ; he owed his seat in the General 
Assembly of New York to no man nor combination of 
men. Not only did he go to Albany free from the 
taint of special interests, but he also showed himself 
inaccessible to corruption. He was not at all sur- 
prised at the depravity of the law-makers of the State, 
for he had learned before that corruption was ram- 
pant at the State capital ; but he set himself bravely 
against it and did all in his power to bring about a 
change. 

Then, as now, he was optimistic. He believed that 
right and justice must in the end triumph, though they 
might be suppressed for a time. He was sensible 
enough, however, not to begin by pillorying the guilty 
ones and trying to bring them to justice himself, nor 
(lid he sit still and let things go on as they had done 
in the past ; but he tried to correct the evils by frankly 

[62 1 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

and honestly advocating such laws as he believed 
would be beneficial to the entire State. 

He was naturally, therefore, brought into conflict 
with his colleagues who were working in the old easy 
way, and before a week had passed, he had won gen- 
eral recognition. His fellow-members very quickly 
learned that Theodore Roosevelt did not know special 
interests and that he could not be made to know them 
by any form of bribe. It was no longer possible to 
table a motion in his committee at the dictation of 
some man higher up, for he defended it with incredible 
stubbornness and frequently brought the majority of 
the committee to his side. And bills that had been sent 
to the committee for decent burial often appeared 
again in the house full of life and vigor. Though his 
colleagues often wished him to the devil and sincerely 
longed for their old freedom to play the game of poli- 
tics, his bold sense of honor made him feared and 
respected. "When he flatly declared that the men who 
take bribes are thieves, many whose consciences 
pricked them sorely cheered him for fear of a public 
scandal. 

Nor could laws that served private interests and 
were detrimental to the commonwealth pass so 
smoothly in the house as before. Mr. Roosevelt exam- 
ined carefully every bill that was brought up and he 
often brought consternation into the hearts of those 
with special interests by his insistence upon a thor- 
ough examination of all questions. Although he was 

[63] 



FHOM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

not regarded as a strong speaker, he spoke clearly 
and distinctly and left no doubt in the minds of those 
present as to what he meant. Since he was always in 
fighting trim and was ready with a reply to all ques- 
tions, he was a dreaded opponent, and often succeeded 
in the house, as in the committee, in defeating pet 
measures of the men who were working for great cor- 
porations. One case in particular should be mentioned, 
as it created a great sensation at the time. A railroad 
had become so corrupt that the people demanded that 
something be done. A district attorney and a judge 
of the supreme court were implicated in the matter. 
The people were highly incensed, but the members of 
the legislature were for setting the petition aside ; and 
had it not been for Mr. Roosevelt the motion would 
have been buried in accordance with the time-honored 
custom. 

Mr. Roosevelt had studied the question thoroughly. 
He wondered how bribery could obtain with judicial 
officials. The unquestionable integrity of judges was 
to him the pillar of society. He, therefore, asked the 
older representatives of his party what was to be done 
about the matter, and to his astonishment they replied 
that nothing could be done. They were for letting a 
judge at whom the people pointed the finger of scorn 
continue his dishonest practices unpunished. 

This was too much for Mr. Roosevelt, and he intro- 
duced a resolution himself. His colleagues were 
indignant, but he did not hesitate. They appealed to 

[64] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

him to give up such a foolish thing; they said that he 
could do no good and that it would all react upon him. 
He would himself be the one to suffer. It was in this 
way that men who had grown gray in legislative work, 
and whom experience should have made wise, met the 
advances of the young reformer. If we examine the 
matter closely, we shall doubtless reach the conclusion 
that these men favored rather than opposed the cor- 
ruption against which Roosevelt was fighting in the 
General Assembly of New York. 

But Mr. Eoosevelt had no fears, or at least he 
showed none. He once said that in a case in which he 
was doubtful what he should do, he would follow the 
motto : ' ' Forward ! ' ' He acted accordingly in this 
instance. A newspaper gave the following account : 

" It was April 6, 1882, that young Roosevelt arose and moved 
that Judge Westbrook be impeached. As to mere moral courage, 
this, no doubt, is the greatest deed in Roosevelt's life. He 
should have expected failure. Even his youth, his idealism, and 
lack of experience with public affairs could not have blinded 
him to the inevitable consequences. But he drew his sword and 
ran to his ruin — alone and at the very beginning of his career, 
not heeding the warnings of his nearest friends and the simple 
rules of political sagacity. 

" That speech, the decisive deed in Roosevelt's life, is notable 
not on account of its splendor of form but on account of the 
fearless honesty of the sentiments expressed. Regardless of their 
millions, he called thieves thieves. In scathing terms, he 
arraigned the judge and the district attorney for their part in 
the nefarious transaction. With righteous indignation, he told 
the whole truth as his unwilling eyes saw it. And when he had 

[65] 



FBOM ROUGH RIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

finished, the leader of the Republican party, whose hair had 
grown gray with experience, rose and moved that the motion 
be laid on the table. He added thai he wished to give young 
Roosevelt time to reflect upon the wisdom of his action. 'I 
have seen,' said he, 'many honorable gentlemen go down on 
account of irresponsible accusations brought forth in the legisla- 
ture/ The house at once gave Mr. Roosevelt time for reflection 
by promptly voting down his motion. Mockery, laughter, noisy 
cheerfulness — apparently everything — were over except the 
consequences to the haughty youth who had dared to condemn in 
public a great railroad company. 

" It was a most discouraging defeat. Almost all of the mem- 
bers who voted with him were Democrats; perhaps half of his 
supporters were with him only because their votes were not 
needed against him. In the evening he was again told to be 
reasonable, 'to consider his future, to stop hurting his party/ 
He bit his lips and defied the leaders of the party. 

" On the following day, he raised again his insignificant voice 
against the smiling, insolent corruption. Day after day he 
remained in the hall and interviewed representatives of the press. 
Here and there a newspaper stood up for him, and soon represen- 
tatives from all parts of the State began to receive letters from 
their constituents. Within a week Roosevelt's name was known 
from Buffalo to Montauk Point, and everywhere the people, ap- 
plauded him. On the eighth day, a vote was once more taken 
upon his motion to prefer charges; and as the representatives 
saw the eyes of the whole State turned upon them, they did not 
dare to defend longer a judge who was afraid to demand an 
investigation. The opposition broke down ; Roosevelt won by a 
vote of 104 to 6." 

Though in certain respects the good results were not 
proportionate to the efforts put forth, yet Eoosevelt 
achieved a great moral victory. If the men did escape 
punishment on account of the committee's white- 

[661 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

washing the matter, he had at least aroused public 
indignation against open corruption and had com- 
pelled his colleagues to recognize the existence of evil. 
That he did not increase his own popularity with his 
colleagues and with the great corporations is evident. 
They feared him because they saw that he would use 
all the power of his resourceful nature to bring about 
what he considered right and for the interest of the 
State. 

It was hinted in political headquarters that he could 
not be reelected on account of the stand he had taken, 
but again the wise-acres were mistaken. Mr. Roose- 
velt had turned the eyes of his constituents upon him- 
self, and they heartily approved his course. He was 
reelected in 1882 and again in 1883. He was received 
at Albany with open arms by his colleagues, because 
he had become a man with a name, but they had to sub- 
mit to being watched closely by their junior associate. 

Be it said, however, to the credit of the assembly 
that not all the representatives were corrupt. Quite 
a number of them were men of honor, but they lacked 
the courage to stand for what they knew to be right in 
the face of the taunts and laughter of the crowd. The 
more clearly they saw that Mr. Roosevelt fought for 
the welfare of the country without any thought of 
himself the more firmly they stood by him, for they 
were not long in perceiving that he was a leader who 
could be trusted. 

By the help of these men, Mr. Roosevelt succeeded 

[67] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

in forcing through the legislature several laws which 
meant progress in morality and efficiency in govern- 
mental affairs. One in particular is worthy of notice 
here. It provided that henceforth official positions 
should not be given out as rewards for political serv- 
ices but should be conferred according to merit with- 
out regard to party affiliation. Another law ordered 
an inquiry into existing offices to ascertain whether 
there were more offices than the needs of the State 
demanded; and it was found that millions of dollars 
were being paid out to men who were rendering no 
service for it at all. Still another law proposed by 
him took from the aldermen all executive power and 
placed it in the hands of the mayor. This law proved 
of momentous importance to Mr. Eoosevelt himself 
later. 

The fierceness of the fight which Mr. Eoosevelt made 
in the legislature can best be understood by calling to 
mind the character of the representatives. The mem- 
bers from the country districts were generally honest 
but uneducated, and frequently played into the hands 
of their worst enemy. Those from the cities were 
more intelligent but also more corrupt; their moral 
standard was low, their ideals purely mercenary. To 
them Mr. Eoosevelt was a fool. They could not under- 
stand why he did not fill his pockets as they were 
doing and let things move on in the old easy way. But 
if he would have his " foolish notions," they deter- 
mined that he should not interfere with their business. 

[68] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

As they could not oppose Mm openly, they finally 
resorted to the cowardly method of rakes. 

Mr. Roosevelt has the happy faculty of being able 
to separate the politician from the private man in his 
own person. Even if he had fought a man all day on 
the floor of the house, he could meet him in the even- 
ing with a smile and a jesting remark. He often took 
part, although he was not a drinker, at social func- 
tions of his colleagues. One evening, after a particu- 
larly hard day against corruption, he was in the circle 
of his co-laborers. At ten o'clock, he arose to go 
home. At the door he was met, as if on purpose, by 
some young fellows who had had too much of the good 
things of the hour, and among them was a well-known 
rowdy named Collins. As Roosevelt went out, he re- 
ceived a violent shove ; and he perceived at once that 
he was waylaid. 

The next moment Collins stepped up to him and 
demanded in the most impudent manner, " Why do 
you push me ? ' ' He was on the point of striking Mr. 
Roosevelt, but unfortunately his accomplices had for- 
gotten to tell him that Roosevelt was a skilled boxer at 
the university and was at home in a fist fight. Roose- 
velt took a position so that he had his opponent and 
his colleagues of the legislature in front of him, and 
made ready for the combat. In a half minute Collins 
was beaten, and the fellows who came to his assistance 
were picking themselves up from the floor, wondering 
if they had not tackled the wrong man. He then 

[69] 



FBOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

turned laughingly to the members of the legislature 
and told them that he well understood the part they 
had in the affair and thanked them for affording him 
so much pleasure. The self-restraint shown by Mr. 
Eoosevelt at this time won him additional friends. 

Though the constant opposition and endless dis- 
appointment in the legislature was enough to em- 
bitter almost any one, Mr. Roosevelt was proof against 
it all, and maintained his old-time buoyant spirit. Just 
as the attorney rejoices when he succeeds in disen- 
tangling the web of crime and intrigue, so Mr. Roose- 
velt delighted to tear to pieces the nets of human 
malice and sin. 

At one time when a thoroughly sensible bill came 
before the committee to which Mr. Roosevelt belonged, 
the majority of the members were for holding up the 
measure until they were paid to let it pass. Mr. 
Roosevelt favored the motion and insisted that not 
a penny should be paid for its passage. It appeared 
that three of the members were under the influence of 
other statesmen as unprincipled as themselves; one 
was the tool of a politician in a far-away city; and 
the fifth was a Democrat who had sold himself to a 
Republican official, and the sixth worked for the presi- 
dent of a street car company. Roosevelt communicated 
with the official and the president of the street car 
company ; and in a very few days, two of the members 
of the committee had a sudden and a radical change of 
views on the subject of the bill under consideration. 

[70 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Many of the representatives were men of limited 
education, and they would frequently talk the silliest 
twaddle with the most serious air. Some of their mis- 
takes are really amusing. A story is told to this effect : 
A representative from the back country heard the 
word shibboleth used but did not know its meaning. 
He took it to be the more polite form of shillalah, 
which is well known to all. In a speech upon the floor 
of the house, he very calmly used the word as follows : 
' ' The mistake of the young man lies in his using the 
word 'parsimony as a shibboleth with which to beat 
the laboring men. " 

In 1882 serious differences arose in the ranks of the 
Democratic party and a break in the party seemed 
imminent. After a long and fruitless attempt to re- 
store peace, one wing of the party sent to the other a 
proposition, which bore the ominous title Ultimatum. 
The word looked like Latin ; it was extraordinary and 
therefore suspicious and apparently contained an of- 
fence. Now the men to whom the document was 
addressed knew very little English and less Latin. 
One of the men, however, had picked up somewhere 
the words, Ipse dixit. That sounded perfectly splendid, 
and the reply that went back bore the strange title, 
An Ipse dixit to your Ultimatum. 

The back-woods people, as well as the less educated 
inhabitants outside of the large cities, are in the habit 
of calling everything that is not American Dutch. 
One of the representatives favored a tax upon works 

[71] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

of art, and expressed his regrets that American art 
was considered inferior to Dutch paintings from Italy. 
The boldness of his geographical knowledge astounded 
everybody. 

Among the representatives with flexible consciences 
certain forms of expression had grown up. All meas- 
ures in which they were interested were called ' ' vital 
bills "; those, however, that did not bring them any 
money were designated as " local bills." Once Mr. 
Eoosevelt came into the hall just as a vote was being 
taken. He asked his neighbor on the right what bill 
was before the house. ' ' Oh, it is only a local bill — an 
amendment to the constitution." 

The chairman of the committee on which Mr. Roose- 
velt served was a conceited, good-natured colonel 
somewhat addicted to drink. Mr. Roosevelt has de- 
scribed in his own dramatic style many amusing char- 
acteristics of the man. In that committee, which 
consisted almost exclusively of disagreeable men, a 
bill was once under discussion, which provided that 
laborers on public bridges should receive three dol- 
lars per day. The workingmen were naturally inter- 
ested in the bill and asked to appear before the 
committee, and their request was granted. 

On the day appointed for the hearing, the colonel 
appeared in a condition of such terrible dignity that 
it was clear to those who knew him that he had been 
engaged in a drinking bout till a late hour. He seated 
himself at the upper end of the table, facing the mem- 

[7.2] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

bers of the delegation, who would have done honor to 
the rogues' gallery. The first speaker was a profes- 
sional politician, a shrewd fellow with black mustache. 
He had never done any work in his life; but he was 
blessed with a superabundance of self-confidence, and 
began with an ingratiating smile : 

" Humble as I am " 

But he got no further, for he was startled out of his 
composure by the violent raps of the chairman. 

Chairman (with great dignity) : " What did you 
say that you are, sir ? " 

Politician (quite dumfounded) : "I — I said I am 
humble, sir." 

Chairman (reproachfully) : " Are you an American 
citizen?" 

Politician: " Yes ! " 

Chairman (impressively) : " Then you are equal to 
every man in this State. Then you are equal to every 
man on this committee. Don't let me hear you again 
call yourself humble. Continue." 

Thus warned, the man took up his story once more, 
and got along pretty well till he let these words slip 
out : ' ' But the poor fellow has no friends, ' ' which 
again raised the colonel's ire. In rage he fixed his 
eyes upon the offender and asked slowly : l ' What did 
you say just now, sir 1 " 

Politician (in despair) : " I said that the poor fellow 
has no friends." 

Chairman : ' ' You lie, sir. I am a friend of the man, 

[73] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

and so are my colleagues. Speak the truth, sir. [Sud- 
denly changing from the exhorting to the commanding 
tone.] Sit down quickly or get out." 

The next man called was a big fellow of different 
type. He tried to answer questions put to him in a 
natural tone, but when he spoke of the injustices un- 
der which the laboring men were placed, he roared 
like a bull. The colonel moved restlessly in his chair, 
and darted angry glances at the speaker. The first 
part of his story, however, had a rather soothing effect 
and the colonel fell asleep. But as the man warmed 
to his subject, he spoke quite vehemently. The colonel 
awoke with a start, looked around him, saw the speaker 
and remembered that he had seen him before, but evi- 
dently forgot that he had been asleep and, therefore, 
thought that he had seen the man on a previous day. 

1 'I have seen you before," he thundered. 

"You have not," the man replied. 

" Don't tell me a lie," snapped the colonel. " You 
have spoken to this committee on another day." 

" I did not — " began the man. 

But the colonel interrupted him. " Sit down, sir ! 
The dignity of the chair must be upheld. No one shall 
speak twice to this committee. The meeting is 
adjourned." With this he left the room with a majes- 
tic step, while the other members of the committee 
and the delegation of working men looked at each 
other dumfounded. 

The men among whom Mr. Eoosevelt gained his first 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

knowledge of political life and with whom he worked 
for three years were on the whole genial. His experi- 
ence in the legislature was of great value to him. He 
became acquainted with men in public life and learned 
by what motives the great mass of them are actuated. 
He also gained a higher respect for his own ability, 
and won himself a name by his resolute, energetic 
fight for the people against organized corruption. 
Even at that time, the people of New York considered 
him a man to whom the words of Lord Beaconsfield 
might be applied: " He had letters for posterity in his 
pockets. " 

A proof of the confidence which the citizens of New 
York had in the young Roosevelt of twenty-six years 
is found in the fact that he was sent, without instruc- 
tions, to the Republican National Convention at Chi- 
cago in 1884. A candidate for the presidency was to 
be nominated. James G. Blaine seemed to have the 
best chances of being the choice of the party ; but there 
was among the people a strong sentiment against him, 
for it was understood that he was opposed to certain 
reforms which the people were crying for. The 
" spoils system " had produced so much corruption 
in politics that there was a demand for the merit sys- 
tem. It was the wish of many people that the man 
to be selected as standard-bearer of the Republi- 
can party should declare himself in favor of civil 
service reform. Mr. Roosevelt advocated such a 
course with great fervor. But if he did not vote for 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the choice of the majority of his party, he might be 
regarded as unfaithful to the principles for which the 
Republican party stood. Long before, he had said, 
" I do not count attachment to the party among the 
ten commandments." He, therefore, sought among 
the Republican statesmen one whose views on the 
spoils system were in harmony with his own, and pro- 
posed the name of Senator Edmunds. Blaine, how- 
ever, was nominated. 

But fate plays strange tricks. The Democrats nom- 
inated Grover Cleveland of New York, a friend of Mr. 
Roosevelt and an advocate of the merit system, who 
was elected at the polls in November. 

The year 1884 was a sorrowful one for Mr. Roose- 
velt. While the various political fights, in which he 
was very active, were still raging, his young wife died, 
and he was left alone with a baby girl, Alice. The 
same week death claimed his mother. The blow fell 
heavily upon his already weakened health. He gave 
up further political activity, and retired to private 
life. He longed to get away from the places that were 
so full of memories of happier days. His old-time 
passion for nature returned to him. He wished to be 
alone with nature and nature's God. He tried to find 
peace in changed occupation. He bought a farm, Elk- 
horn and Chimney Butte, near the border village of 
Medora, North Dakota, on the Little Missouri. It was 
his intention to engage in breeding cattle in a region 
where the foot of man had seldom trod. 

[76 1 



CHAPTER IV 

IN THE WILD WEST 

THE reason why Mr. Roosevelt became a breeder 
of cattle upon the Western prairies was not, as 
has often been said, to better his financial condition. 
It is quite certain that he did very little business and 
even lost money in what he did do. He became a 
ranchman for no other reason than to recover from 
the shock occasioned by the deaths of his wife and 
mother. Incidental to that was a longing for adven- 
ture, which he had inherited from his father, and a 
desire to know at first hand the Far West. Though he 
built, in the style of the frontier, a log house on the 
Little Missouri, he did not sever his connection with 
the busy world in which he had formerly lived. He 
had a small but well-selected library, and the postman 
from Medora brought him every two weeks letters, 
newspapers, and books. Often he received as visitors 
people with whom he had been associated in New 
York. He was thus able to keep in close touch with 
what was going on in the country, and especially in 
his native State and city. As he could not read all the 
time, he felt the need of some occupation that would 
demand his entire attention. In those wild regions, 
far from railroads and other accompaniments of civili- 

[77] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

zation, there are few callings to select from, and, from 
necessity, Mr. Roosevelt turned to the raising of 
cattle. 

Cattle breeding in those days was a simple process. 
The pasture was the wild prairies which the ranchmen 
held in common. They knew their cattle by the brand 
which they burned into the yearling calves. The cat- 
tle were practically without restraint and went where 
they would in search of food. Summer and Winter 
they fought against hunger, beasts of prey, and the 
rigor of the Western blizzard. The supervision of 
the herds was in the hands of the cowboys, who cared 
for them in the rough manner of the plains. If an ani- 
mal fell into a morass, they dragged him out by the 
horns by means of a lasso tied to the saddle. They 
killed or chased away, when they found them, the bears 
and cougars that looked to the herds for a food supply. 
The busy seasons for the cowboys were in the Spring 
and the Fall when the general round-ups took place. 
All the cattle were driven in at that time in the Spring 
for the purpose of counting and branding and in the 
Autumn to select those that were ready for the mar- 
ket. The round-ups lasted for weeks and were trying 
on men and horses. Mr. Roosevelt thoroughly enjoyed 
the excitement and hard work of the period, and rode 
side by side as a friend and equal with the native 
rangers. In his ' ' The Wilderness Hunter, ' ' * Mr. 



* ' ' The Wilderness Hunter, ' ' by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London. 

[78] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Roosevelt presents the following description of the 
round-up : 

" Before noon the circle riders began to appear on the plain, 
coming out of the ravines, and scrambling down the steep hills, 
singly or in twos and threes. They herded before them bunches 
of cattle of varying size ; these were driven together and left in 
charge of a couple of cow-punchers. The other men rode to the 
wagon to get a hasty dinner — lithe, sinewy fellows with weather- 
roughened faces and fearless eyes; their broad felt hats flapped 
as they galloped, and their spurs and bridle chains jingled. 
They rode well, with long stirrups, sitting straight in the deep 
stock saddles, and their wiry ponies showed no signs of fatigue 
from the long morning's ride. 

"The horse-wrangler soon drove the saddle band to the wa- 
gons, where it was caught in a quickly improvised rope-corral. 
The men roped fresh horses, fitted for the cutting work round 
the herd, with its attendant furious galloping and flash-like 
turning and twisting. In a few minutes all were in the saddle 
again and riding towards the cattle. 

" Then began that scene of excitement and turmoil, and seem- 
ing confusion, but real method and orderliness, so familiar to all 
who have engaged in stock-growing on the great plains. The 
riders gathered in a wide ring round the herd of uneasy cattle, 
and a couple of men rode into their midst to cut out the beef 
steers and the cows that were followed by unbranded calves. 
As soon as the animal was picked out, the cowboys began to drive 
it slowly towards the outside of the herd, and when it was near 
the edge, he suddenly raced it into the open. The beast would 
then start at full speed and try to double back among its fellows, 
while the trained cow-pony followed like a shadow, heading it 
off at every turn. The riders round that part of the herd opened 
out and the chosen animal was speedily hurried off to some spot 
a few hundred yards distant, where it was left under charge of 
another cowboy. The latter at first had his hands full in pre- 
venting his charge from rejoining the herd, for cattle dread 

[79] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

nothing so much as being separated from their comrades. How- 
ever, as soon as two or three others were driven out, enough to 
form a little bunch, it became a much easier matter to hold the 
' cut' as it is called. The cows and calves were put in one 
place, the beeves in another; the latter were afterwards run into 
the day-herd. 

" Meanwhile from time to time some clean-limbed young 
steer or heifer, able to run like an antelope and double like a 
jack-rabbit, tried to break out of the herd that was being worked, 
when the nearest cowboy hurried in pursuit at top speed and 
brought it back after a headlong, break-neck race, in which no 
heed was paid to brush, fallen timber, prairie-dog holes or cut 
banks. The dust rose in little whirling clouds, and through it 
dashed bolting cattle and galloping cowboys hither and thither, 
while the air was filled with the shouts and laughter of men and 
the bellowing of the herd. 

" As soon as the herd was worked, it was turned loose, while 
the cows and calves were driven over to a large corral where the 
branding was done. A fire was speedily kindled, and in it were 
laid the branding irons of the different outfits represented on the 
round-up. Then two of the best ropers rode into the corral 
and began to rope the calves, round the hind leg by preference, 
but sometimes round the head. The other men dismounted to 
'wrestle' and to brand them. Once roped, the calf, bawling 
and struggling, was swiftly dragged near the fire, where one or 
two of the calf-wrestlers grappled with and threw the kicking, 
plunging little beast, and held it while it was branded. If the 
calf was large, the wrestlers had hard work; and one or two 
young maverick bulls — that is, unbranded yearling bulls, whi^h 
had been passed by in the round-ups of the preceding year — 
fought viciously, bellowing and charging, and driving some of 
the men up the sides of the corral, to the boisterous delight of 
the others." 

The cowboys, with whom Roosevelt was thrown con- 
tinually, are a peculiar type of men. They belong, one 

[80] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

might say, to the past, for with the growing popula- 
tion of the West and the breaking up of the land into 
small farms, the cowboys disappear. The immense 
ranges of the seventies and eighties shrink more and 
more each year, and the conditions that made the 
cowboys are rapidly passing away. They were bold, 
fearless, almost wild fellows, whose home was in the 
saddle. Their horses and their revolvers were their 
constant companions. For weeks or even months, from 
morning till night, they rode over wild, uninhabited 
stretches of country. There was no talk of an eight- 
hour work-day with them. They were glad if they 
could get their feet upon the ground after sixteen 
hours of riding that would have taxed the strength of 
a knight of old. 

As they had to deal with animals, they easily became 
rough and coarse in thought and speech. The jokes 
and the games with which they broke the tedium of 
the evening hour were of the crudest type. They were 
without refinement that comes from contact with 
women of high moral standards. They lived among 
men, strong, healthy men who knew not the name of 
fear and who looked upon a coward with contempt as 
the legitimate butt of all their jokes. When weary 
from the strain of long days of toil, they occasionally 
took a holiday, on which they went to the nearest town 
and indulged in drinking and other forms of intem- 
perance. It was seldom that they returned home till 
the last penny was speni. Under the power of liquor, 

[81] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

their better nature was suppressed ; they became quar- 
relsome, and on the plains quarrels usually ended in a 
fight in which revolvers played a leading part. A 
favorite sport when they " were taking in a town " 
was to single out some man and make him dance by 
shooting at his feet; and, of course, when they tried 
the trick on a man who was not given to dancing in 
that way trouble ensued. If things had not been excit- 
ing enough for them in town, they frequently aroused 
the countryside by shooting into the houses as they 
passed on their way home. 

That they were committing crimes never once dis- 
turbed their minds. When they thought of the law at 
all, it was of an inconvenient thing made to be broken. 
They rather gloried in being called " tough " and 
delighted in running counter to the conventionalities of 
civilized life. They wished to be as free as their own 
broad prairies and chafed even under the mild restraint 
that a frontier town would put upon them. They were 
not at all conscience-smitten when they killed an 
adversary in a fight. They considered that he had 
played the game and lost, and that was all there was to 
it. When one of their number became a member of a 
robber gang, they were not surprised, but set about to 
capture him with all the zeal with which they under- 
took any other exciting task, though they well knew 
that some one would be killed in the attempt. They 
toyed with death daily till they lost all fear of it. 

But even these rough cowboys of the plains had a 

[82] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

certain code of morals, which it was death to violate. 
They never forgave, for instance, the treachery of a 
friend nor the cowardly act of any one. They scorned 
to take advantage of any man, and he who was guilty 
of such a thing was hunted to death with the same dire 
vengeance which never failed to pursue the horse- 
thief. The cowboys had in their veins something of 
the blood of the old Northmen, and in many respects 
are like the backwoodsmen who opened the great West 
to civilization. Death was always skulking near them 
ready to pounce upon them at any moment. He was in 
the driving snows of Winter through which they had 
to push their way, in the turbulent rivers which they 
had to cross, on the fierce broncos and fiercer bulls with 
which they had to deal. The woods through which 
they had to pass were the ancient home of the grizzly 
bear, which resented the encroachments of man upon 
his estate. The Indians were not always friendly, and 
on account of tempests and treacherous streams, sav- 
age beast and still more savage men, the cowboys car- 
ried their lives in their hands. The stern environment 
in which they were placed taught them the heroic vir- 
tue of self-reliance in a high degree. They felt them- 
selves masters of their destiny, and they were. 

Such rough, yet strong and true companions were 
naturally attractive to Mr. Roosevelt. He knew fear 
no more than they and entered with zest into their 
bold, hazardous adventures, of which neck-breaking 
riding formed no small part. For that reason, they 

[83 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

treated him with the rude, though genuine, courtesy 
of the plains. He shared with them as far as possible 
their joys and their sorrows, and many among them 
became his true friends. They felt honored when he 
appeared at their dinners, opened the cowball at 
Medora and danced with their wives. 

Only once during the years which he spent in the 
"West was he shot at with malicious intent, and then 
not by a cowboy but by a scoundrel of the lowest caste. 
While on an excursion, Mr. Eoosevelt had to stay 
over night at a hotel, the first floor of which was given 
over entirely to a bar-room; and every one, whether 
drunk or sober, had to sit in that room. Mr. Roosevelt 
sat down in a corner and read a newspaper. After a 
while, a fellow approached him with two revolvers in 
his hands and demanded that Eoosevelt treat the 
crowd. He had already frightened the other guests 
by his threats, and did not like the indifference with 
which the man with spectacles, or " specs," as he said, 
regarded what went on around him. In order to make 
his demand more impressive, he let his revolver talk. 
Eoosevelt pretended to yield to the inevitable and 
arose; but the next moment he hurled the fellow 
against the wall, and the next, to the floor, while both 
revolvers were discharged harmlessly into the air. 
When the fellow came to himself again, he saw the man 
with the " four eyes " kneeling over him. Eoosevelt 
punched him in the face till he pleaded for mercy and 
gave up his weapons. The onlookers, sheep breeders 

[84] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

in the main and farmers, glad to be rid of such a fel- 
low, nodded approvingly and said, " It serves him 
right." And Roosevelt went to bed without further 
trouble. 

After that incident was noised abroad, as it soon 
was, no one felt like needlessly provoking him to a 
quarrel. The hard, rough life to which he was con- 
tinually exposed had made him, frail from intellectual 
work, into a healthy, broad-shouldered man, capable 
of holding his own with the best of them. The Wild 
West gave to the semi-invalid the strength and robust- 
ness which the president possesses to-day. 

The extensive woods and broad prairies offered 
further and splendid opportunity to Mr. Roosevelt to 
indulge in the favorite sport of his younger years. 
He hunted deer of many varieties, among them the 
prongbuck, that like the African antelope dots the 
prairies; and the moose, similar to the elk of the old 
German woods. For days he climbed the steep cliffs 
and crossed dizzy abysses on the trail of mountain 
sheep and white goat; he fought many a hard battle 
with the black bear and with his far more dangerous 
brother, the grizzly ; unexpectedly he fell upon the cou- 
gar, that secret robber that knows how to escape the 
eyes of the hunter so that one sees him only by chance. 
Often he strolled through the deep, dark woods with- 
out companion and did not return to his farm for 
days; he feared no danger, heeded no hardship, and 
rested not till he had killed the game that he sought. 

[85] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

How narrow his escapes at times, his description of 
hunting the grizzly will show : * 

" However, I got enmeshed in the tangle of winding valleys 
at the foot of the steep mountains, and as dusk was coming on, I 
halted and camped in a little open spot by the side of a small, 
noisy brook with crystal water. The place was carpeted with 
soft, wet, green moss, dotted red with the kinnikinnic berries, 
and at its edge, under the trees where the ground was dry, I 
threw down the buffalo bed on a mat of sweet-smelling pine 
needles. Making camp took but a moment. I opened the 
pack, tossed the bedding on a smooth spot, knee-haltered the 
little mare, dragged up a few dry logs, and then strolled off, 
rifle on shoulder, through the frosty gloaming to see if I 
could pick up a grouse for supper. 

' ' For a half mile I walked quickly and silently over the pine 
needles, across a succession of slight ridges separated by narrow, 
shallow valleys. The forest here was composed of lodge-pole 
pines, which on the ridges grew close together, with tall slender 
trunks, while in the valley the growth was more open. Though 
the sun was behind the mountain, there was yet plenty of light 
by which to shoot, but it was fading rapidly. 

' ' At last, as I was thinking of turning towards camp, I stole 
up to the crest of one of the ridges, and looked over into the 
valley some sixty yards off. Immediately I caught the loom of 
some large, dark object ; and another glance showed me a big 
grizzly walking slowly off with his head down. He was quarter- 
ing to me and I fired into his flank, the bullet as I afterwards 
found ranging forward and piercing one lung. At the shot he 
uttered a loud, moaning grunt and plunged forward at a heavy 
gallop, while I raced obliquely down the hill to cut him off. 
After going a few hundred feet, he reached a laurel thicket 
some thirty yards broad, and two or three times as long, which 

* From ' ' The Wilderness Hunter, ' ' by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright G. P. Putnam 's Sons, New York and London. 

[86] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

he did not leave. I ran up to the edge and there halted, not 
liking to venture into the mass of twisted, close-growing stems 
and glossy foliage. Moreover, as I halted, I heard him utter a 
peculiar, savage kind of whine from the heart of the brush. 
Accordingly, I began to skirt the edge, standing on tiptoe and 
gazing earnestly to see if I could not catch a glimpse of his 
hide. When I was at the narrowest part of the thicket, he 
suddenly left it directly opposite, and then wheeled and stood 
broadside to me on the hillside, a little above. He turned his 
head stiffly towards me ; scarlet strings of froth hung from his 
lips ; his eyes burned like embers in the gloom. 

" I held true, aiming behind the shoulder, and my bullet 
shattered the point or lower end of his heart, taking out a big 
nick. Instantly the great bear turned with a harsh roar of 
fury and challenge, blowing the bloody foam from his mouth, 
so that I saw the gleam of his white fangs ; and then he charged 
straight at me, crashing and bounding through the laurel bushes, 
so that it was hard to aim. I waited until he came to a fallen 
tree, raking him as he topped it with a ball which entered his 
chest and went through the cavity of his body, but he neither 
swerved nor flinched, and at the moment I did not know that I 
had struck him. He came steadily on, and in another second 
was almost upon me. I fired for his forehead, but my bullet 
went low, entering his open mouth, smashing his lower jaw and 
going into the neck. I leaped to one side almost as I pulled 
trigger ; and through the hanging smoke the first thing I saw 
was his paw as he made a vicious side blow at me. The rush 
of his charge carried him past. As he struck, he lurched 
forward, leaving a pool of bright blood where his muzzle 
hit the ground; but he recovered himself and made two or 
three jumps onwards, while I hurriedly jammed a couple of 
cartridges into the magazine, my rifle holding only four, all 
of which I had fired. Then he tried to pull up, but as he did 
so, his muscles seemed suddenly to give way, his head drooped, 
and he rolled over and over like a shot rabbit. Each of my 
first three bullets had inflicted a mortal wound." 

[87] 



FBOM KOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

But Mr. Roosevelt bore the hardships of frontier 
life not only without complaining but even with pleas- 
ure. Heat and cold, hunger and thirst, the loneliness 
of plains and the roughness of camp life did not mar 
his buoyant spirit. He retained his love for nature 
and boyish interest in the chase, though in hunting he 
was often at disadvantage, for at times, after he had 
run hard and long, at the critical moment his eye- 
glasses became dim, so that his prey escaped him. 

The weather itself is a factor to be reckoned with on 
the plains. The cold at times is something fearful, 
and the men who worked or hunted in those regions 
faced most difficult conditions. Mr. Roosevelt himself 
returned home one moonlight night when the mercury 
shrank to twenty-six degrees below zero. When he 
reached his cabin, both knees and one hand were 
frozen. In the worst weather, he frequently slept out- 
side in a light tent, for his work was such that he had 
to spend the night where darkness found him. 

Once in the middle of "Winter, he was on his way, in 
the company of a friend, to Yellowstone Park. In the 
evening, they selected a place for the camp, tied the 
horses and prepared their supper. 

In " The Wilderness Hunter " * Mr. Roosevelt says : 

" The wind had gone down, and snow was falling .thick in 
large, soft flakes; we were evidently at the beginning of a 



* ' ' The Wilderness Hunter, ' ' by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London. 

[88] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

heavy snowstorm. All night we slept soundly in our snug 
tent. When we arose at dawn there was a foot and a half 
of snow on the ground, and the flakes were falling as fast as 
ever. There is no more tedious work than striking camp in 
bad weather ; and it was over two hours from the time we rose 
to the time we started. It is sheer misery to untangle picket- 
lines and to pack animals when the ropes are frozen ; and 
by the time we had loaded the two shivering, wincing pack- 
ponies, and had bridled and saddled our own riding-animals, 
our hands and feet were numb and stiff with cold, though 
we were really hampered by our warm clothing. My horse 
was a wild, nervous roan, and as I swung carelessly into the 
saddle, he suddenly began to buck before I got my right leg 
over, and threw me off. My thumb was put out of joint. I 
pulled it in again, and speedily caught my horse in the dead 
timber. Then I treated him as what the cowboys call a 
' mean horse,' and mounted him carefully, so as not to let 
him either buck or go over backward. However, his pre- 
liminary success had inspirited him, and a dozen times that 
day he began to buck, usually choosing a down grade, where 
the snow was deep, and there was much fallen timber. ' ' 

Mr. Roosevelt's conception of hunting is different 
from that of most other men. Never has he gone long 
distances for game, but he has shot the wild animals if 
they furnished a particularly beautiful trophy, or if 
his camp was in need of food. He who shoots down 
indiscriminately everything that comes before his 
gun, is, in his opinion, no hunter, but a butcher. If 
hunting is done in moderation, the numerical strength 
of the wild animals hardly suffers from it ; if it degen- 
erates into butchery, the animals disappear in a very 
short time, especially the ones that are the most 

[89] 



FROM KOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

attractive to the eye of the hunter, the buffalo for 
example. Much as Mr. Roosevelt enjoys hunting, no 
one deplores more than he the rapid disappearance of 
American game, and he recommends the establish- 
ment of some State and National Parks in which the 
wild animals shall remain unmolested, and the settle- 
ment of such territory shall be strictly forbidden. 

Mr. Roosevelt's humane conception of the sport 
arises from the fact that he does not practise hunting 
as an end but as a means to an end. To him it is a de- 
sirable sport because it serves to develop the strength 
of the body. The purpose in hunting should not be to 
kill as many animals as possible, but to harden one's 
power of endurance and sharpen one's faculties.- In 
this respect hunting is the best preparatory school for 
the soldier: it gives him a keen eye, an alert ear and 
a steady hand. In bear-fighting, the hunter can al- 
ways show courage and daring, a wolf -hunt requires 
good horsemanship, and the pursuit of the mountain 
goat calls for unremitting climbing. Though other 
sports benefit, as a rule, only some particular part of 
the body, hunting develops the whole man, and for this 
reason Roosevelt considers it a most noble sport. 

But even this is not enough. According to Roose- 
velt, a hunter must enjoy the silent communion with 
the things of the vegetable world no less than the more 
exciting contact with the wily members of the animal 
kingdom. His heart must rejoice at beholding the im- 
mense trees, centuries old, pointing their aged arms 

[90] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

heavenward; he must be able to walk with reverence 
beneath their mighty boughs, on the soft, green carpet 
of moss ; nor must that reverence grow less when the 
forest is robed in its garments of Winter — when ice 
and snow lie heavy upon the frozen landscape and 
the cold moonbeams touch to liquid silver every cliff 
and tree. He should feel his heart beat fast with joy 
at the sight of the foaming torrent rushing in lordly 
grandeur down the mountain side, and be inspired to 
see the rays of the setting sun rest with caressing ten- 
derness on the bald brow of the topmost peak. He 
must take delight in watching the bear earn his food 
by his own earnest efforts, as he tears up the earth in 
search of tender roots and overturns stumps of trees 
in quest of young squirrels ; or watch from a safe dis- 
tance the deadly battle of two Wapiti bulls or peer un- 
observed into the lair of the young of the springbuck. 

Even while Mr. Roosevelt was upon the plains, he 
was a good judge of birds. Just as now he is glad 
that a great variety of songsters have built their nests 
around the White House, so then he listened, soothed, 
the whole night through, to the mocking-bird of the 
Far West which sang on his window ledge. 

The region of the Little Missouri, where Mr. Roose- 
velt had settled, had been bought only a few years 
before from the Sioux. The older settlers of the 
neighborhood could tell of many encounters with the 
red-skins, and Mr. Roosevelt himself frequently came 
in contact with them. In his " Ranch Life and the 

[91] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Hunting Trail," * he tells of one of these encounters 
which might have had more serious consequences. 

' ' My only adventure with Indians was of a very mild kind. 

It was in the course of a solitary trip to the north and east of 

our range, to what was then practically unknown country, 

although now containing many herds of cattle. One morning 

I had been travelling along the edge of the prairie, and about 

noon I rode up a slight rise and came out on a plateau that 

was perhaps half a mile broad. When near the middle, four 

or five Indians suddenly came up over the edge, directly in 

front of me. The second they saw me they whipped their 

guns out of their slings, started their horses into a run, and 

came on at full tilt, whooping and brandishing their weapons. 

I instantly reined up and dismounted. The level plain where 

we were was of all places the one on which such an onslaught 

could best be met. In any broken country, or where there is 

much cover, a white man is at a great disadvantage if pitted 

against such adepts in the art of hiding as Indians ; while, on 

the other hand, the latter will rarely rush in on a foe who, 

even if overpowered in the end, will probably inflict severe 

loss on his assailants. The fury of an Indian charge, and 

the whoops by which it is accompanied, often scare horses so 

as to stampede them ; but in Manitou I had perfect trust, and 

the old fellow stood as steady as a rock, merely cocking his 

ears and looking round at the noise. I waited until the 

Indians were a hundred yards off, and then threw up my 

rifle and drew a bead on the foremost. The effect was like 

magic. The whole party scattered out as wild pigeons or teal 

ducks sometimes do when shot at, and doubled back on their 

tracks, the men bending over alongside their horses. When 

some distance off, they halted and gathered together to con- 



* " Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," by Theodore Roose- 
velt. Copyright The Century Co., New York. 

[92] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

suit, and after a minute one came forward alone, ostentatiously 
dropping his rifle and waving a blanket over his head. When 
he came to within fifty yards I stopped him, and he pulled 
out a piece of paper — all Indians, when absent from their 
reservations, are supposed to carry passes — and called out, 
' How ! Me good Indian ! ' I answered ' How ! ' and assured 
him most sincerely that I was very glad that he was a good 
Indian, but I would not let him come closer; and when his 
companions began to draw near, I covered him with my rifle 
and made him move off, which he did with a sudden lapse 
into the most canonical Anglo-Saxon profanity. I then 
started to lead my horse out to the prairie ; and after hovering 
around a short time they rode off, while I followed suit, but 
in the opposite direction. It had all passed too quickly for 
me to have time to get frightened; but during the rest of 
my ride I was exceedingly uneasy, and pushed tough, speedy 
old Manitou along at a rapid rate, keeping well out on the 
level. However, I never saw the Indians again. They may 
not have intended any mischief beyond giving me a fright, 
but I did not dare to let them come to close quarters, for 
they would probably have taken my horse and rifle, and not 
impossibly my scalp as well. Towards nightfall I fell in with 
two old trappers who lived near Killdeer Mountains, and 
they informed me that my assailants were some young Sioux 
bucks, at whose hands they themselves had just suffered the 
loss of two horses." 

In such cases, Mr. Eoosevelt, as others who had 
made their homes in the wild regions, was dependent 
upon himself solely. The robbers and horse-thieves 
who stripped the wanderer and plundered the lonely 
farms were not all Indians by any means. There were 
many shiftless white men who preferred this way of 
getting a living to honest work. As soon, therefore, as 

[93] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the settlers became numerous enough, they instituted 
a kind of police-system of their own, and those who 
officiated were called " stranglers, ' ' because they used 
summary measures when they captured a criminal 
and dragged him to the nearest tree. A short time 
before Eoosevelt moved upon his claim, this police- 
system had been very active; about sixty evil-doers, 
and among them many innocent persons, had been shot 
or hanged. There was a sheriff in the country, but the 
territory over which he had to stand guard was so 
large that before he could reach the place of trouble, 
the people had generally meted out punishment them- 
selves or had suffered for their own aggressions. 

Once the robbers paid a visit to the Roosevelt ranch, 
and stole among other things the boat with which he 
was accustomed to cross the Little Missouri. For ap- 
parent reasons, it was assumed that the deed had been 
perpetrated by three daring fellows who had been 
under suspicion in the neighborhood for some time, 
and of whom the people wished to be rid. Inasmuch 
as an unpunished theft invites a new one, Mr. Roose- 
velt determined to follow them up without delay. 

But to do that was not easy. It was winter and very 
cold. Furthermore, as the robbers had taken away 
the only boat at hand, a new one had to be built. In a 
short time, however, the boat was ready, and Mr. 
Roosevelt with two of his most faithful cowboys 
entered it. All were well armed and warmly clothed. 
They also provided themselves with the necessary 

[94] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

food, which could be supplemented from time to time 
from the game that crossed their pathway. 

On the afternoon of the third day, they saw the stolen 
property on the shore. There was also a smaller boat 
near and a little distance from the shore a smoke could 
be seen. Cautiously they turned their course to the 
bank of the river. As soon as the boat touched land, 
Roosevelt leaped ashore and stepped forward a few 
paces in order to protect his companions who had to 
tie the boat first. When the boat was securely fast- 
ened, they all three approached the fire. The only man 
present, a German, surrendered without opposition. 

Leaving one of the cowboys with the prisoner, Mr. 
Roosevelt with the other one went out to meet the two 
robbers who had gone out to shoot some game for 
supper. About an hour later they came along, unsus- 
pectingly with their guns carelessly thrown on their 
shoulders. Roosevelt and his companion stepped 
suddenly from their hiding place with their guns lev- 
elled on the robbers and shouted, " Hands up ! " 
One of the men threw away his gun immediately, but 
the other one seemed inclined to fight; but seeing 
that they had the drop on him, he instantly gave 
up without resistance. In camp the three prisoners 
were all closely examined. They made them sit near 
the fire and take off their shoes. As the ground was 
covered with hedge-hog thistles, escape in bare feet 
was impossible. 

They now had the criminals, but inasmuch as Mr. 

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FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Eoosevelt had no inclination to use the methods of the 
" stranglers," the hard part of his task was just 
begun, for the nearest sheriff was three hundred miles 
away in the little city of Dickinson. The first week, 
they floated down the river. Often ice prevented them 
from going forward, so that the whole company had 
to go on land and wait for the noon-sun to thaw the 
river. Food became scarce, and as game could not be 
had, the men had to be satisfied with bread made of 
flour and dirty river water. But the most disagree- 
able thing was the nights. They camped on some 
protected spot on shore, the prisoners were forced to 
sit close together near the fire while one of Eoosevelt 's 
party, with his gun on his knee, kept guard. At last 
they reached a farm where they found a man who was 
willing to take the prisoners to Dickinson in a wagon, 
though he wondered why Eoosevelt did not take the 
law into his own hands. 

Sending his cowboys back home, Mr. Eoosevelt set 
out with his prisoners over rough country roads. The 
wagon went very slowly, and for the greater part of 
the way, Eoosevelt walked behind: he could thereby 
avoid the jolting and also keep closer watch on his pris- 
oners. The journey took two days. The night on the 
road was spent in a small hut. As he did not wish to 
leave the men unguarded in the cabin, he sat by the 
door on duty the long night through ; and when morn- 
ing came, he again took his place behind the wagon and 
before sundown delivered the robbers to the sheriff at 

[96] 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Dickinson. He had not closed his eyes for thirty-six 
hours, and had eaten nothing for nearly two days, al- 
though he had walked behind the wagon almost the 
entire distance from the ranch on the river to Dickin- 
son, while those who had made all these hardships nec- 
essary were much more comfortable than he. Mr. 
Roosevelt received for the transportation of the pris- 
oners the sum of fifty dollars, which he was entitled to 
according to the Dakota law. 

The two years, 1884-1886, which Mr. Roosevelt spent 
in the Wild West were eventful for him in more ways 
than one. Above all he had recovered from the fatigue 
of his political campaigns and the blows that fate had 
dealt him, and had laid up reserve force for future 
activities. Physically and mentally tired out, he had 
sought refuge in the freedom of the broad and track- 
less prairies, and the charm of wild mountain tracks. 
He now turned his back upon the woods and prairies, 
which had meant so much to him, the personification of 
perfect manhood. He had come in contact with a 
rough, and somewhat wild, yet good and industrious 
people; he had been a companion to them: he had 
shared with them joy and grief and sport and toil ; he 
had often divided with them his last bite of bread and 
his last drop of water, until they came to look upon 
him as one of their number and to love him accord- 
ingly. On his hunting trips and other journeys, he 
was often carried into districts where the foot of the 
white man had seldom trod ; he learned to know at first 

[97] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

hand the value of the land and its artistic beauty; 
and, as he entered more and more into the life of the 
people and understood their needs, their hopes and 
their ambitions, the deeper became his love for his 
country and its people, and the more he desired to 
make the future of that people what it should be. 



[98] 



CHAPTER V 

ROOSEVELT THE REFORMER 

THOUGH Mr. Roosevelt, during his stay in the 
Wild West, had refrained from taking an 
active part in politics, he had not been forgotten by 
his political friends. In the second half of the year 
1886, the Republicans in New York were in great dis- 
tress for want of a suitable candidate for mayor in 
the coming city election. The poorer class of the party 
had unwittingly fixed upon Henry George, who under 
the banner of ' ' Progress and Poverty ' ' played heavy 
to the great army of malcontents, but who had none of 
the qualities that would appeal to the better educated 
class of people. In their effort to find a man who could 
command the support of all classes, they thought of 
Theodore Roosevelt. They presented the situation to 
him, and urged him to accept the candidacy. 

Mr. Roosevelt did not hesitate long. The hopeless- 
ness of his being elected rather than deterring him 
made the offer of the nomination more attractive, for 
it showed to him the great need. Jle entered the cam- 
paign with his characteristic energy; he often made 
four speeches in a single evening in as many parts of 
the city. But all efforts were in vain. On election day, 

[99] 



FEOM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Hewitt received 90,552, George 68,110, and Roosevelt 
60,435 votes. Inasmuch as George refused to with- 
draw, the Republican party was split and the election 
of Hewitt was assured from the beginning. Mr. Roose- 
velt was really not disappointed; he knew when he 
accepted the nomination that the odds were against 
him. He had done his duty as he saw it and was sat- 
isfied with the result. 

The election occurred in November ; in December he 
was married again. This time Edith Carow, his for- 
mer school-love, became his wife. His daughter Alice 
had thus far been educated at the home of her grand- 
parents in Boston ; Mr. Roosevelt now took her to him- 
self. The next three years he devoted himself to his 
family and to his writings. Again he enjoyed the 
hunting and the scenery at his farm on the Little Mis- 
souri, and even occasionally took part in the round- 
ups ; but during these three years, his main occupation 
was writing. 

In the year 1882, his first book, ' ' The Naval War of 
1812," appeared. After that, he plunged deeper and 
deeper into the history of America, read with growing 
interest the lives of many of the famous men, and 
rejoiced over the deeds of the population of the Amer- 
ican frontier. The fruits of his historical studies were 
" The Life of Thornas H. Benton " (1887), a son of 
the West, who had exercised a decisive influence in the 
Senate of the United States for thirty years, ' ' The 
Life of Gouverneur Morris " (1889), who, as ambassa- 

[100] 



FBOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

dor to France saw the French Revolution in all its 
bloody terror, and the first two volumes of his master- 
piece, " The Winning of the West " (1889), the last 
two volumes of which appeared in 1894 and 1896 re- 
spectively. In this work, he describes the general ad- 
vance of civilization from the Coast States over the 
Alleghanies and into the valley of the Mississippi. He 
speaks of the heroic deeds of such men as Daniel Boone 
and David Crockett and of the bloody fights which the 
white settlers had with the red masters of the land. 
The noble characters of Cooper's " Leather-stocking 
Tales," which are familiar to every German boy, find 
their real counterparts in the historic figures of " The 
Winning of the West." Besides his works in history, 
he also wrote a number of political essays. These were 
first published in the magazines, but, as they became 
popular, they were printed in book form under the 
title of " Essays on Practical Politics " (1888). He 
also wrote from time to time of his hunting trips and 
his experiences with the cowboys and trappers. In 
1886 he published " Hunting Trips of a Ranchman " 
and in 1888 his most excellent book, ' ' Ranch Life and 
the Hunting Trail. ' ' 

The large number of works written during his stay 
on the Little Missouri furnish ample proof of Mr. 
Roosevelt's industry, so that we are somewhat pre- 
pared to see him later on while in the heat of political 
fights finding time to write many and not at all worth- 
less books. Of historical works, there followed " New 

[101] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

York City: a History" (1891), " Hero Tales from 
American History" (1895), "The Rough Riders" 
(1899), and " Oliver Cromwell " (1901). He dealt 
with politics in " American Ideals " (1897) and " The 
Strenuous Life" (1900). Hunting experiences and 
appreciative observations of nature form the con- 
tents of " The Wilderness Hunter " (1893), " Hunting 
in Many Lands " (1895), " The Deer Family " 
(1902), and " Outdoor Pastimes of an American 
Hunter " (1905). 

The quiet life which Mr. Roosevelt led in the wilder- 
ness soon began to weigh upon him and to make him 
long for a change. Politics attracted his attention 
again. He kept himself posted as to things of the 
busy world without, and especially as to the course of 
affairs in New York. On his lonesome tramps, he 
thought over the problems confronting the American 
people and tried to arrive at some definite conclusion 
as to the best method to solve them. These conclu- 
sions he expressed in his own characteristically 
pointed way in numerous magazine and newspaper 
articles. The public seemed to take well to all that he 
wrote. One soon noticed that Roosevelt took up his 
pen only when he had something really worth while to 
say, and, as he always had a high conception of per- 
sonal responsibility in public business, he never failed 
to emphasize the fact that justice and honesty should 
be fundamental in politics and in every form of human 
intercourse. His sentiments found an echo in the 

[ 102] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

hearts of the better class of American citizens, and he 
became widely and favorably known. 

What he had thought out theoretically during many 
years, far from the rush of the Empire City, he now 
wished to give a practical test to. He therefore wrote 
to President Harrison in 1889 and asked for a respon- 
sible position in the Department of the Interior. But, 
as he was still considered by many of the more con- 
servative men in public life, a hot-headed youth who 
was far more likely to bring about disagreeable 
entanglements with foreign countries than to render 
worthy services, his request was refused. President 
Harrison did, however, call him into the Civil Service 
Commission, where, it is sometimes said, he got his 
ideas of political reforms. But that is not the truth. 
"When he was a representative at Albany, Mr. Roose- 
velt helped to enact a civil service law which was a 
blow at the spoils system which was then flourishing 
in the State of New York, and about the same time a 
similar law had been passed by the government of the 
United States. During the six years that had inter- 
vened since that time, the special commission to which 
was entrusted the task of making the law effective was 
leading a harmlessly inactive existence. The major- 
ity of the members of Congress liked that; they had 
voted for the law, it is true, but they had done so in 
response to public opinion and they heartily approved 
the sleeping process as a means of nullifying the law. 

Mr. Roosevelt was of a different opinion. He saw 

[103] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

in the spoils system a gigantic evil which should be 
rooted out at all hazards. For seventy years, the 
spoils system had been in vogue, for Andrew Jacksou, 
who became president in 1828, declared that " to the 
victors belong the spoils. ' ' From that time on, it was 
the custom to dismiss at the close of every presidential 
term all federal officials, from the members of the pres- 
ident's cabinet to the mail-carriers on the most insig- 
nificant of star routes, and thousands were made 
breadless in a single day. But that was not the worst 
of it. According to the principle, the offices were 
always filled with political adherents, and without 
regard in many instances to the fitness of the men for 
the positions in which they were placed. Faithfulness 
to duty meant nothing; loyalty to party meant every- 
thing. The interests of the country were sacrificed to 
party greed ; and one president had fallen a victim to 
the insane demands of the system. 

There was urgent need of reform. In " American 
Ideals ' ' * Eoosevelt said : 

" No question of internal administration is so important 
to the United States as the question of civil service reform, 
because the spoils system, which can only be supplanted 
through the agencies which have found expression in the act 
creating the Civil Service Commission, has been for seventy 
years the most potent of all the forces tending to bring about 
the degradation of our politics. No republic can per- 
manently endure when its politics are corrupt and base; and 



*" American Ideals," by Theodore Roosevelt. Copyright 
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London. 

[104] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the spoils system, the application in political life of the 
degrading doctrine that to the victor belong the spoils, pro- 
duces corruption and degradation. The man who is in politics 
for the offices might just as well be in politics for the money 
he can get for his vote, so far as the general good is con- 
cerned. . . . The spoils-monger and spoils-seeker invari- 
ably breed the bribe-taker and bribe-giver, the embezzler of 
public funds and the corrupter of voters. Civil service 
reform is not merely a movement to better the public service. 
It achieves this end, too ; but its main purpose is to raise the 
tone of public life, and it is in this direction that its effects 
have been of incalculable good to the whole community. ' ' 

These were also in general the demands which the 
opponents of the spoils system made, and which were 
accepted in name only by the civil service act of 1884. 
In reality, as said before, most of the members of 
Congress were opposed to the law and pushed their 
own adherents into office wherever they could, and the 
commissioners who had to make the lists of applicants 
for the different offices, who were to hold examinations 
and to prevent violations of the law, were careful not 
to arouse those people by undue strictness, which 
resulted in no strictness at all. Everything remained, 
therefore, practically as it had been before, in spite of 
the hope which the law had offered to the people. 

With Roosevelt's appearance on the commission, 
matters changed. His two colleagues were also good, 
honest men who despised the spoils system with their 
whole heart, but who lacked the fighting spirit and 
bold initiative of Mr. Roosevelt. Though he was not 
chairman of the commission, he certainly was the soul 

[105] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

of it. The three men worked in perfect harmony, how- 
ever, and their labor has borne fruit. 

Mr. Roosevelt was determined to get the law into 
operation and prosecute any violations of it. The 
test which he wished to apply to applicants for govern- 
ment positions was a simple one. He demanded abil- 
ity, honesty, and faithfulness to duty. He made it a 
rule to allow no one to get a federal position to whom 
he would not feel safe in entrusting his own private 
affairs. The men who could bear successfully these 
tests should remain in office if they were already there, 
and should be placed on the accredited list if they were 
not then in office. It will be observed at once that this 
was in entire harmony with the civil service law. 

As soon as the commission learned that the law had 
been violated anywhere, they instituted proceedings 
with a thoroughness that proved embarrassing to cer- 
tain members of Congress. Though they were heart- 
ily disliked by many of the higher federal officials, 
their action had a beneficial effect upon all depart- 
ments of the federal government. The men who 
appointed the minor officials were careful in their selec- 
tions, because they felt themselves under the scrutiny 
of men who asked for the highest degree of efficiency 
in all federal positions. The men who held the offices 
under civil service rule enjoyed greater security than 
they had ever done before, and consequently rendered 
better services to the State. 

As the commission had done its work without taking 

[106] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the public into its confidence, the feeling became wide- 
spread, helped along by designing enemies, that some- 
thing mysterious was going on there. Mr. Roosevelt, 
therefore, gladly welcomed the public to his office. 
Whenever a senator or a representative attacked the 
Civil Service Commission, he promptly received an in- 
vitation from Mr. Roosevelt to visit the office and to 
convince himself with his own eyes of the recklessness 
of his accusations. He also requested the newspaper 
reporters to visit his office and gave them all the infor- 
mation they wished in regard to the work of the com- 
mission. He feared neither the criticisms of the 
public nor of his avowed enemies, whose loaves and 
fishes he had cut off. He had sufficient confidence in 
the ultimate good sense of the people to believe that 
they would soon be convinced that the commission was 
doing its duty impartially. 

At one time an article appeared in a recalcitrant 
newspaper to the effect that under a Republican pres- 
ident only Republicans would apply for office. Roose- 
velt 's reply was not long delayed. He invited the rep- 
resentatives of the great Southern newspapers to his 
office, and when they were assembled, he addressed 
them as follows: 

" Gentlemen, I am about to ask you to help me wipe 
out this false accusation and to render a service to your 
countrymen at the same time. I have looked over the 
list of promotions, and have found that, though the 
Northern and the Western States get their full share, 

[107] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the Southern States do not get theirs. I request that 
you make it known in the most emphatic way that it is 
the desire of the members of this commission that the 
young men of the South apply for positions, and take 
the examinations without regard to their political 
views. I presume that the majority of your educated 
young men are Democrats; but you may transmit to 
them my full assurance that they will receive in every 
way the same consideration as young men from other 
parts of the country, that no one will ask them about 
their political views and that they will be promoted 
according to merit in the regular order. The commis- 
sion has been established not for Eepublicans, not for 
Democrats, but for the American people, and, as long 
as I stay here, will be managed for the best interests 
of the country regardless of party affiliations." 

Greater and greater became the interest of the coun- 
try in the reforms of the Civil Service Commission. 
People generally admired the man who dared fight with 
corruption wherever he found it and to take upon him- 
self the hatred and enmity of all the opposing ele- 
ments. It made no difference to Mr. Eoosevelt who 
the sinner was ; they all looked alike to him. He even 
invaded the cabinet of President Harrison and publicly 
exposed a member of it who presumed upon being 
allowed to disregard the provisions of the law. At 
that time, even the president, though an honest, con- 
scientious man, wished to remove the indomitable, 
incorruptible, inconvenient reformer, but out of regard 

[108] 



FEOM HOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

for public opinion, which was entirely with Mr. Roose- 
velt, did not do it. 

The congressmen who were adherents of the spoils 
system were Mr. Roosevelt's most bitter opponents. 
They regarded the action of the commission in stop- 
ping favoritism in the distribution of federal offices as 
a piece of unwarranted impudence. On account of the 
activity of the Civil Service Commission, they could 
no longer reward their supporters by pushing them 
into fat public offices, and they had unpleasant visions 
of their henchmen deserting them. The leader of the 
anti-reformers was Senator Gorman. His rage against 
the commission drove him again and again to vigorous 
attacks against it, and he was loyally aided by many of 
his colleagues. An opportunity was given at each 
session of Congress, when the report of the Civil Serv- 
ice Commission was made, for the disgruntled mem- 
bers to air their indignation. They found excuse for 
criticising everything that the commission did or did 
not do and showed only too plainly that they were for 
doing away with the disagreeable trap at any price. 

The attacks against Roosevelt and his colleagues 
were often ridiculous. At one time, Gorman declared 
on the floor of the Senate that " an intelligent young 
man from Baltimore, an applicant for a position as 
mail-carrier, had been asked on examination to name 
' the shortest route from Baltimore to Japan,' and, 
because he was unable to answer this and similar ques- 
tions, was not permitted to pass." As soon as Mr. 

[109] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Roosevelt heard of Senator Gorman's speech, he wrote 
him a polite letter in which he asked him to name the 
place and date of the examination and invited him to 
look over for himself all the questions that had been 
given on examination to mail-carriers and to convince 
himself whether such questions had ever been asked. 
Mr. Gorman, however, told his colleagues in the Sen- 
ate that he had done as he always did when a mean 
fellow mixed in his affairs : he had taken no notice of 
the letter. 

To this Mr. Roosevelt replied in an open letter, 
which concluded as follows: 

' ' High-minded, sensitive Mr. Gorman ! Clinging, trustful 
Mr. Gorman ! Nothing could shake his belief in that ' bright 
young man.' Apparently, he did not even yet try to find out 
his name — if he had a name; in fact, his name, like every- 
thing else about him, remains to this day wrapped in the 
Stygian mantle of an abysmal mystery. Still less has 
Mr. Gorman tried to verify the statements made to him. It 
is enough for him that they were made. No harsh suspicion, 
no stern demand for evidence or proof, appeals to his art- 
less and unspoiled soul. He believes whatever he is told, 
even when he has forgotten the name of the teller, or never 
knew it. It would indeed be difficult to find an instance of 
a more abiding confidence in human nature — even in anony- 
mous human nature. And this is the end of the tale of 
Arcadian Mr. Gorman and his elusive friend, the bright 
young man without a name ! ' ' 

At another time, a newspaper friendly to Gorman 
printed a facsimile of a Roosevelt letter and asked in 
a derisive way whether a man with such penmanship 

[110] 



FKOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

could pass the examination for a clerk of the third 
class in Roosevelt's office ; and added that that man was 
a member of a commission that had to decide upon the 
hand-writing of others. To this article Roosevelt 
replied in a way that the editor had not expected. He 
confessed that he would not apply for the position of 
clerk for the obvious reason that he would have little 
chance of passing the examination and that he would 
make a very poor clerk, though he felt that he was a 
fairly efficient member of the commission. "And," 
he added, " there it is. Under our system of civil 
service examinations I couldn't get in, whereas under 
the old spoils system you advocate I would have had 
pull enough to get the appointment to the clerkship I 
was n't fit for. Don't you see f " 

The members of Congress went so far in their 
opposition as to cut down considerably the appropri- 
ation for the work of the commission. Mr. Roosevelt at 
once retaliated. He took the lists before the commis- 
sion for examinations and erased the names of all of 
those from the districts whose representatives had 
voted for curtailing the expenses of the commission. 
At the same time, he informed the people through the 
press what was being done, and added in justification 
of his own conduct that inasmuch as examinations 
would have to be abandoned in some districts for the 
lack of money, it was nothing but right that those dis- 
tricts whose representatives had tied the hands of the 
commission by decreasing the appropriation should 

[HI] 



FROM HOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

suffer. A tumult arose immediately throughout the 
country, especially among those who were expecting 
to take the examinations ; and such pressure was soon 
brought to bear upon Congress that the allowance to 
the commission was increased to the original sum 
asked for. 

Against such opposition, Mr. Eoosevelt worked con- 
scientiously through the two years of Harrison's 
administration and the four years of Grover Cleve- 
land's. His energy gave life to his colleagues. 
" Every day," one of them said, " I went to the office 
with pleasure. I knew that while Roosevelt was there 
something would be done that would make our work 
worth while, and after he left the office, I found the 
duties laborious." 

The result of the activities of the Civil Service Com- 
mission while he was a member of it, Mr. Roosevelt 
sums up in these words : ' ' Offences were made public 
to greatest extent possible. Even where we were not 
able to win our fight, we gained something from the 
fact that we had undertaken it and were ready to renew 
it again if provoked. Though there were violations 
and evasions of the law, the percentage was very small 
if we consider the extent of the civil service. As a 
whole, it is doubtful whether one per cent of all offi- 
cials removed were dismissed for political reasons. 
In other words, where under the reign of the spoils 
system, a hundred men would have lost their positions, 
ninety-nine remained secure in the discharge of their 

[112] 



FROM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

duties because of the civil service as it was adminis- 
tered under our supervision." 

When in 1895 Mr. Roosevelt resigned his position 
on the commission, President Cleveland was justified 
in congratulating him on his success. He had per- 
formed a gigantic task well. He is to be praised not 
only because he increased the number of positions 
subject to civil service rule, from 14,000 to 40,000, 
but particularly because he instituted in the service 
high moral standards, and followed them himself for 
six years. The frankness and honesty with which he 
had met all opponents, the courage with which he had 
opposed injustice of every description, impressed 
themselves deeply upon the American people and 
gained for him the respect and admiration of many 
men of power and influence. How incessantly he 
worked can be learned from the statements of officials 
of the Congressional Library. They said that a clerk 
would be kept busy for a week if he were even to make 
out a list of all the articles which Mr. Roosevelt pub- 
lished in defence of his reforms — and these were quite 
as necessary to the country as the reforms themselves 
for they opened the way to greater reforms. 

Mr. Roosevelt had decided to accept the position 
offered him as chief of police of New York City. He 
did this against the advice of his friend and adviser 
and fellow-worker, Proctor. Proctor was firmly con- 
vinced that it was not the proper thing to do, and 
argued long and insistently, till at last Roosevelt pat- 

[113] 



FROM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ted him on the shoulder and said, ' ' Old friend, I have 
decided that I ought to go. ' ' 

" Go, then," said Proctor almost roughly as he rose 
from the table. " You must always have your way, 
and I believe you are right; clean up the city thor- 
oughly." And the gray-bearded man walked out and 
wept like a child. 



[114] 



CHAPTER VI 

KOOSEVELT AS POLICE COMMISSIONER OP NEW YORK 

OLD Mr. Proctor was not the only one who tried 
to dissuade Mr. Roosevelt from accepting the 
position of chief of police of New York. His friends 
generally thought that he was too good and too big a 
man to be chief of police, even of the metropolis of the 
American continent. The police of New York at the 
time enjoyed, too, a rather unsavory reputation. But 
it was for these very reasons that the work appealed 
to Mr. Roosevelt; he saw before him something that 
needed to be done, something that was worthy of being 
done with the highest degree of efficiency ; and he felt 
himself equal to the task. He had declined the office 
of commissioner of the street cleaning department, 
which had first been offered him, on account of ' ' lack 
of experience. ' ' He believed himself capable, however, 
of directing the police system of the great city. He 
knew that, if he succeeded in reforming the system, he 
would render a lasting benefit to his fellow citizens. 
He, therefore, remained deaf to all the advice and 
warning of his friends, and entered upon his duties on 
May 5, 1895. 

The conditions which he found to exist were indeed 

[115] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

wretched. The whole system was inseparably con- 
nected with politics ; the dominating party, Democratic 
adherents of the spoils system, who had united in 
forming the Tammany ring, had exercised for many 
years a veritable tyranny over the patrolmen and used 
them in a shameless way to further their nefarious 
plans. As in all other departments of the city gov- 
ernment, the worst incompetency, immorality, and dis- 
honesty reigned in the department of police. The 
officers worked hand in hand with thieves and crimi- 
nals ; he who paid for it could go unmolested, but he 
who could not or would not buy immunity was annoyed 
by them in every manner possible. Instead of being 
a protection to the people, they were themselves a 
menace. Many people preferred rather to deal with 
the outlaws than with the policemen. 

Under the Tammany regime, all offices were bought. 
Only when a very influential congressman wanted a 
place for a favorite, was an exception made to the 
rule. And the exceptions were rare ; the required sum 
had to be furnished usually before one could get 
employment under the city. There was a special levy 
upon policemen. An ordinary policeman's position 
cost from $200 to $300; he who was ambitious to 
become police lieutenant had to pay for the appoint- 
ment from $12,000 to $15,000. 

In deciding upon the high prices for offices, they 
bore in mind that policemen have the opportunity of 
securing large amounts of money from bribes, and the 

[116] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

men who bought their positions were certain that they 
would not be reprimanded if they fleeced every one 
with whom they came in contact. But they were 
expected to " tote fair " with the leaders of Tammany 
Hall and to deliver to them half of the spoils. The 
income which the Democratic party received in this 
way footed up millions of dollars. 

A police officer could play his game of robbery with 
incredible success on account of the freedom that was 
given him. If a saloon-keeper wished to observe the 
law, and, therefore, refused to pay the ' ' freewill ' ' 
offering to the policemen, his rival in business was 
given such extensive privileges that the honest busi- 
ness man was either ruined or compelled to pay up as 
the others had done. The police closed their eyes 
everywhere for money; gambling dens, saloons, dis- 
orderly houses bought immunity from punishment and 
flaunted their vice in the faces of respectable citizens. 
Every form of vice paid its toll and flourished with 
the connivance of the men who were supposed to sup- 
press vice. 

The shameful practices of the Tammany people con- 
tinued and increased at an alarming rate until even 
the most indifferent citizen became aroused to the 
necessity of reform. The feeling of the people was 
expressed in the election of 1894 and the Tammany 
gang was expelled and a Republican by name of Strong 
was elected mayor. He had the best of intentions but 
lacked in energy to make right and justice prevail at 

[117] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

all times. When he entered office in the following 
year, he asked Mr. Roosevelt to take charge of the 
department of police, and to put an end to the undesir- 
able conditions. 

When Mr. Roosevelt appeared for the first time in 
Mulberry Street as the head of the police of New- 
York, Byrnes, the chief of the secret service, greeted 
him with these words : ' * The system will break your 
opposition. You will give in, for you are only human 
after all." 

Mr. Roosevelt began by separating the police from 
politics. He refused absolutely to let any one have 
anything to say in regard to his appointments. In 
making appointments and promotions, he considered 
only the fitness of the men for the work. He put out 
of the service those who were physically weak and 
those who were given to drink. He asked neither 
as to one's politics nor religion, but was satisfied on 
examination if one showed a fair degree of knowledge 
united with native common sense. For once the test 
of merit was applied to the police force of New York 
City. 

Nor did the test end with the appointments. In 
order to find out as to the faithfulness of the officials, 
Mr. Roosevelt in company with a friend often made 
his rounds through certain districts of the city. These 
tours of inspection were usually made between mid- 
night and sunrise when the men, if they ever were, 
would be off their guard. Of his first inspection, his 

[118] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

friend Leupp gives the following interesting descrip- 
tion : * 

" The friend found the commissioner at the appointed 
place and hour, armed only with a little stick and a written 
list of the patrolmen's posts in the district which was to be 
visited. They walked over each beat separately. In the first 
three beats they found only one man on post. One of the 
others had gone to assist the man on the third, but there 
was no trace of the third man's whereabouts. They went 
over to Second Avenue, where they came upon a patrolman 
seated on a box with a woman. 

" ' Patrolman,' asked the commissioner, ' are you doing 
your duty on post 27? ' 

' ' The fellow jumped up in a hurry. This pedestrian, though 
unknown to him, was obviously familiar with police matters; 
so he stammered out, with every attempt to be obsequious: 
' Yes, sir; I am, sir.' 

' ' ' Is it all right for you to sit down ? ' inquired the mys- 
terious stranger. 

' ' ' Yes, sir — no, sir — well, sir, I was n 't sitting down. I 
was just waiting for my partner, the patrolman on the next 
beat. Really, I wasn't sitting down.' 

" ' Very well,' said the stranger, cutting him short and 
starting on. 

" The officer ran along, explaining again with much volu- 
bility that he had not been sitting down — he had just been 
leaning a little against something while he waited. 

' ' ' That will do ; you are following me off post. Go back 
to your beat now and present yourself before me at head- 
quarters at half past nine this morning. I am Commissioner 
Roosevelt. ' 

" Another three blocks and the strollers came upon a 
patrolman chatting with a man and a woman. They passed 

*From Leupp 's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co. New York. 

[119] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the group, went a little way, and returned; the woman was 
gone, but the patrolman and the man were still there, and deep 
in conversation. The talk was interrupted to enable the officer 
to answer the commissioner's questions. The man seized 
the opportunity to slip off. 

" ' They were drunk, sir, a little intoxicated, sir,' was the 
patrolman's excuse, as he caught an inkling of the situation. 
' I was just trying to quiet them down a bit. I ? m sorry, sir, 
very sorry.' 

" ' That 's enough. Come to Commissioner Roosevelt's office 
at half past nine.' 

" In search of the roundsman the commissioner started, 
to call him to account for all this laxity of discipline. The 
roundsman was found gossiping with two patrolmen on an- 
other beat. 

" ' Which of you men belongs here? ' demanded the com- 
missioner, addressing the patrolmen. 

' ' They and their companion met the inquiry defiantly. One 
of the trio retorted : ' What business is that of yours ? ' 

" The commissioner made no response except to repeat his 
question in another form : ' Which one of you is covering 
beat 31 ? ' 

" It was now plain that they were in trouble. By the light 
of a neighboring gas-lamp the roundsman recognized the in- 
terrogator's face. He cast a significant glance at one of his 
companions, who answered, meekly enough, ' It 's me, sir. ' 

" The other told where he belonged and left quickly for 
his post, while the roundsman made a poor fist of explaining 
that he was ' just admonishing the patrolmen to move around 
and do their duty ' when the commissioner came up. 

" ' You may call on me at half past nine and tell me all 
about it, ' was the response ; ' I have n 't time now to listen. ' ' 

And so he continued his rounds till dawn. The dis- 
agreeable impression which the discoveries made was 

[120] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

relieved somewhat when he came to a precinct where 
every man was found at his post. The officer in charge 
was ordered to report on the same day at police head- 
quarters, not to be reprimanded but to be congratu- 
lated. The guilty officers made all kinds of excuses, 
some of which were really amusing. A few assured 
him it was the first night they had been negligent. 

" See to it that it is the last one," came the quick 
reply. ' ' I wish to convince myself with my own eyes 
how you spend your time. ' ' 

On another of his night tours of investigation, he 
found only one of ten policemen doing his duty prop- 
erly. One was sitting on a butter-box in the middle 
of the sidewalk and snoring so loud that he could be 
heard on the other side of the street. In another pre- 
cinct, Eoosevelt went around a certain beat three times 
without being able to find his man. He was just on 
the point of leaving without having effected his pur- 
pose when the owner of a night cafe, whose guests had 
got into a quarrel, came into the street and by knock- 
ing on the sidewalk with a stick gave the signal that 
he needed police protection. He repeated the signal 
three times ; but, as the policeman did not come, cried 
in anger : ' ' Where in thunder does the scoundrel 
sleep ? He should have told me if he had given up the 
barber shop, so that I could have found him." This 
officer also received an invitation to headquarters to 
inform the chief why he had changed his sleeping 
place. 

[121] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Mr. Eoosevelt's night visits had the desired effect. 
The policemen did not feel secure for a moment, for 
they conld not know at what hour of the day or night 
Mr. Eoosevelt might break in upon them. They, 
therefore, attended strictly to business. After the 
first week, Mr. Roosevelt was known in police circles 
as Harun. He soon was able to find out the cause of 
the weakness of the police force. It was not due pri- 
marily to the rank and file of the men of the service, 
but to the superior officers who compelled them in one 
way or another to earn extra money and always con- 
doned laxity in the discharge of duty, provided they 
fed the coffers of the men higher up. 

The most money had formerly been extorted from 
saloon-keepers. If they paid the policemen suffi- 
ciently, they could keep their doors open as long as 
they pleased. It, therefore, seemed most necessary 
to Eoosevelt to enforce the law in regard to opening 
and closing saloons, and to punish severely every 
infraction of it. A short time before, a law had been 
passed ordering saloons to be closed on Sunday; but 
like many other laws, it had never been enforced, save 
so far as it was necessary to extort money from the 
saloon men. 

Mr. Eoosevelt ordered a most careful enforcement 
of the law, and requested the policemen to' close the 
saloons if necessary by force and to report the propri- 
etors who resisted. A storm at once arose, for the 
policemen, for fear of their master, did as they were 

[122] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

told, and soon the fury of the twelve thousand or four- 
teen thousand saloon-keepers of New York City was at 
white heat. Half the city took sides with the saloon- 
keepers. Singly and in crowds men came to Mr. 
Roosevelt to get him to withdraw his order ; members 
of the city council advised him not to turn everything 
upside down, to work with discretion. To them he 
replied that there was nothing in his oath about discre- 
tion; he had sworn to enforce the laws and would 
remain true to his oath, and added that he had not 
made the laws ; if they were obnoxious they should be 
repealed. As long as they remained on the statute 
books, he would see to it that they were enforced. He 
backed up his position with the words of Lincoln: 
' ' Teach respect for the laws in school, print it in the 
readers and story books, preach it from the pulpits, 
give explanation to them in the meetings of the repre- 
sentatives and enforce them in the courts, and, in 
short, let them become the political gospel of the 
people." 

Though Mr. Eoosevelt had done nothing but enforce 
in an honest way laws that had formerly been enforced 
in a dishonest way, complaint against him increased. 
Some papers that knew how to foment trouble as- 
serted that crime was on the increase, since the police 
were giving so much time to the saloons and were un- 
able to protect the law-abiding citizens. Mr, Roosevelt 
listened to the accusations in silence, and stuck firmly 
to the line of conduct which he had marked out. It 

[ 123] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

was not long, however, before he received substantial 
proof of the wisdom of his course. The Bellevue Hos- 
pital reported that for the first time since the institu- 
tion was founded no case had been treated on Monday 
which had resulted from a drunken row on Sunday. 
The police courts stated that the number of delin- 
quents was decreasing, the savings banks made it 
known that the number and the amount of deposits 
were continually on the increase, and the pawnbrokers 
complained of hard times. 

While the fight about the Sunday law was at its 
height, the " United Societies for Liberal Sunday 
Laws " decided upon a big parade as a protest against 
the Roosevelt tyranny. A number of the city fathers 
as well as the representatives of the most important 
breweries were invited to see the demonstration. A 
platform had been erected for them in a conspicuous 
place. They invited Mr. Roosevelt to join them on 
the platform, little thinking that he would do it as the 
demonstration was against him. But to their surprise 
and to the astonishment of every one, he suddenly 
appeared upon the platform and took his place in the 
front row after saluting with a friendly bow those 
present. At the head of a certain group was a burly 
German veteran of the Franco-German War who found 
it difficult to dispense with his " Sunday beer." The 
police president was particularly intolerable to him, 
and as he passed the platform, he cried out in a most 
derisive tone, " Nun, wo 1st der Roosevelt t ' 

[1241 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

He was almost stunned when suddenly a round face 
with heavy eyeglasses bent over him and replied in 
his native tongue: " Hier bin ich ! Was willst du, 
Camerad f " The German was speechless at first and 
looked up as if he saw a spirit. But as soon as he 
comprehended what was going on, he raised his hat 
and roared: " Hurrah for Roosevelt ! " 

Group after group passed by. One man carried a 
banner with the inscription: "Roosevelt's Drunken- 
ness — Reform Rumblings." Another read: "Send 
the police czar to Russia ! ' ' Roosevelt laughed when 
he saw the banners and sent a policeman after the 
wagon to ask that he might have them as souvenirs. 
The men were so astonished that they handed them 
over without a word. The good humor of Mr. Roose- 
velt pleased the people and, when the German cheered 
him, they also joined in the applause, so that one group 
after another passed the platform with hurrahs for 
Roosevelt. What was to have been a protest against 
his tyranny became a tribute to his honor. Many a 
man gave expression to his feeling in such words as 
these : ' ' Bravo, Teddy ! " ' ' He is all right ! ' ' "He 
is a fine fellow ! ' ' 

But the hatred of the men whom he had brought to 
terms was not at all softened. On the contrary, when 
they saw him growing in favor with the people, they 
sought other means of getting rid of him. A few 
councilmen whose interests were in common with those 
of the saloon-keepers tried to veto his appointment, 

[125] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

claiming that lie had been appointed only temporarily 
by the mayor, Mr. Strong. But unconsciously Mr. 
Roosevelt had rendered himself a great service years 
before. As a member of the General Assembly of 
New York in 1883, he had put through a law which 
took the veto-power away from the council and placed 
it in the hands of the mayor. The city fathers learned 
to their sorrow that their old time prestige was gone, 
for with their veto-power gone they were rattlesnakes 
without fangs. They had to keep Mr. Roosevelt at 
the head of the police, much as they hated him. 

How strong was the hatred against him in certain 
circles can be seen from the fact that even his life was 
in danger. Twice bombs were found in his desk, and 
that he escaped harm was due to his own intrepid 
spirit and to the watchfulness of his friends. For, 
after all, those who hated him belonged always to the 
same class of people. But since he was after the 
light -shunning crowd and attacked every one that 
under one pretext or another sinned against life and 
property of his neighbors, he was the living terror of 
those who lived in constant war with the law, but on 
the other hand he soon gained the unlimited confidence 
and respect of all right-thinking people. He soon 
became well known to the residents of the city. Chil- 
dren flocked to him in numbers and told him their 
small and their larger sorrows and expected him to 
help them if possible. He came to occupy such a place 
in the minds of the children that they continued to go 

[126] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

to the police headquarters for Mr. Roosevelt long after 
he had resigned his office. 

Against one who has the children and the helpless 
for friends, the hearts of other people cannot long be 
locked, especially when that one has a nature so frank 
and so filled with a sense of justice as Mr. Roosevelt. 
Above all, the officials under Mr. Roosevelt came to 
love him. The majority of them were men who needed 
only encouragement and the example of their superi- 
ors to make them efficient officers of the law, and as 
they now had both, the efficiency of the police service 
rapidly increased. To the astonishment of every one, 
the men responded readily to the wishes of a leader 
who held the oath of office a sacred thing and who con- 
sidered the sale of liquor to children and the accept- 
ance of bribes as crimes but little less dark than cold 
murder itself. 

Under the old regime, the policemen received neither 
reprimands for gross neglect of duty nor praise when 
they had done their duty heroically. Mr. Roosevelt 
was no less careful to bestow praise where praise was 
due than to censure where censure was due. Only a 
few days after he formally took up the duties of his 
office, a policeman followed a burglar one night into 
the subway, into which the man had jumped, and 
finally at the risk of his own life captured the man. 
When Roosevelt heard of his conduct, he promptly 
promoted him to a higher position. Another one, a 
bicycle policeman, ran after a runaway horse on a 

[127] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

crowded street. After a hard race, he succeeded in 
stopping the horse, but not till he had received broken 
limbs and a bruised body, which necessitated his going 
to the hospital. When he was able to take up his 
work again, he was a roundsman and wore the medal 
of bravery upon his breast. 

Another case shows the difference between the old 
way and the Eoosevelt way of doing things. A gray- 
haired policeman had risked his life by swimming 
through the ice-filled river to save a woman ; Roosevelt 
ordered him to report at headquarters and promptly 
gave him a better position. The old man, a veteran 
of the Civil War, had already saved twenty-eight lives 
in the same way, for his beat was near the river, where 
such accidents are frequent. During his entire serv- 
ice, his record had been without blemish. Congress 
had honored him with the medal for bravery and had 
conferred upon him the life-saving medal; but the 
police department, which he had served so faithfully, 
had never a word of appreciation for him; they had 
even allowed him to buy a new uniform at his own 
expense when the old one had become useless on 
account of his efforts in saving the lives of others. 
Mr. Eoosevelt had not been longer than four weeks in 
the department when he made it known that uniforms 
which were rendered unfit for service on account of 
risk of life while on duty were marks of honor and 
that the department would bear the expense of new 
ones. 

[128] 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

By such treatment, he awakened in the officials a 
love and a respect for their work. They knew that 
they were judged according to their merit, and that 
even the ' ' pull ' ' of friends in higher positions could 
not save them if they were not faithful and efficient 
in the performance of their duty. Formerly people had 
spoken with shame and indignation of the police de- 
partment, but under the Roosevelt administration the 
New Yorker came to speak of it with pride and pleas- 
ure. In order to bring about the change, no particular 
genius had been necessary, as he himself stated. Only 
the ordinary, every-day virtues, the presence of which 
should be taken for granted in every citizen, were 
needed. Healthy common-sense, honesty, courage, 
determination, the willingness to learn and the desire 
to be as kind to every one as consistent with strict per- 
formance of one's duty — these were the qualities 
which made Mr. Roosevelt so successful in the police 
department of the American metropolis, and these are 
the qualities which will make any man successful in 
almost any line of work. 

That his friendliness and kindness were at times 
taken advantage of is to his credit rather than to his 
discredit. Mr. Roosevelt is by nature optimistic and 
sees the good in men to the exclusion of the bad ; and 
he is occasionally deceived when a less trustful man 
would pierce the deception. At one time, a certain 
policeman had tried his patience too far and was dis- 
missed. Next morning when he arrived at his office, 

[129] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the policeman with eleven children of all ages awaited 
him. The dismissed official led the children into the 
presence of his chief and with a sorrowful wave of his 
hand, said, ' ' All of them motherless ! ' ' 

"What? All these children without a mother?" 
Then the severity of his countenance changed to one 
of sympathy: " Go back to your work and try once 
more and for the last time." He afterwards learned 
that only two of the children belonged to the man ; the 
others he had borrowed for the occasion from his 
neighbors. 

Mr. Roosevelt lived in a state of open war with the 
saloon-keepers. Besides forcing the saloons to close 
their doors at the hours fixed by law, he fought many 
another battle with them that earned for him the 
respect of all law-abiding citizens but made the liquor 
element his lasting enemy. He enforced strictly the 
law against selling liquor to minors. The increase in 
the use of alcoholic liquors among children had become 
alarming. The most reliable statistics obtainable by 
the police of the city showed that more than half of 
those addicted to drink acquired the habit before they 
had reached the age at which it was lawful to sell them 
the beverage. Again and again news of accidents 
and crimes, which were the result of drunkenness 
among children, reached the police. Only recently a 
boy had fallen a victim to the curse. He had been sent 
into a saloon regularly by workingmen to purchase 
liquor for them, and learned to like the taste of it him- 

[130] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

self. One evening while intoxicated, he fell into an 
old cellar and was literally eaten up by the rats. 

The conditions became so horrifying that an asso- 
ciation was formed for the purpose of protecting the 
children. Mr. Roosevelt was in the movement with his 
whole heart. The saloon-keepers denied that they ever 
sold liquor to children, and it was not easy to get direct 
evidence against them inasmuch as the boys and the 
men interested would not tell on each other. Finally 
Mr. Eoosevelt adopted a plan, which led to his being 
much criticised. He himself sent a boy into the 
saloons for whiskey, and in that way got undeniable 
evidence against the violators of the law. The law 
threatens with punishment not only him who sells the 
liquor, but every one who is a party to the sale ; and, 
therefore, it was maintained by his enemies that Mr. 
Roosevelt had put himself under the ban of the law 
and was himself as guilty as the saloon-keepers. To 
which Mr. Roosevelt replied that he had chosen the 
lesser of two evils, as there was no other way out. The 
boy who had entered the saloon hundreds of times for 
a bad purpose entered it once for a good purpose ; and 
though the letter of the law had been violated, the 
spirit of it had been observed, and he was enabled to 
stop completely the sale of intoxicating liquor to 
children. 

The means which his opponents said that he should 
have applied were totally inapplicable. They main- 
tained that he should have used the secret service of 

[131] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the department ; but if the policeman had entered the 
saloons in the disguise of a civilian, he could not have 
caught the guilty parties, because they knew that they 
were shadowed and were constantly on their guard. 
Besides, they waited upon children in a narrow hall or 
other places where it was impossible for the ordinary 
customer to enter. No fair-minded man would con- 
demn Mr. Eoosevelt for a moment. He merely adopted 
the simplest and surest plan of getting hold of the men 
whom he knew to be guilty but against whom he found 
it impossible to secure evidence sufficient to convict 
them. 

As head of the department of police, Mr. Eoosevelt 
was, also, a member of the department of health, in 
which capacity he had an opportunity to do much 
good. Here again it was the children that were sinned 
against. In the old tenements the annual death-rate 
among children was one-third. But that does not tell 
it all: those who were able to fight off death were 
frequently rendered physically unfit to meet the re- 
sponsibilties of bread-winners when they reached 
manhood, and sooner or later became objects of char- 
ity. On account of the lack of fresh air, cleanliness, and 
public playgrounds and parks in the tenement dis- 
tricts, the children were not given an opportunity to 
develop into normal men and women; they were 
deprived by the greed of men of their God-intended 
heritage — the right to be born well and raised well. 

In his night visits throughout the city, Mr. Roose- 

[ 132 1 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

velt went to these tenements to convince himself of the 
misery that was hidden within their walls. In accord- 
ance with his recommendation, the worst of them were 
bought by the city and torn down. If the owners did 
not accept the offers made them, the property was con- 
demned and disposed of anyway. In the place of the 
rickety, old fire-traps and disease holes, modern build- 
ings arose under the direction of the department of 
health. The streets were cleaned up and widened. 
The newly erected school-houses were constructed on 
sanitary principles, and playgrounds, though not so 
large as could be wished, were left for the children. 
In a word, everything was done that could be done to 
give greater comfort and privileges to the city's poor. 
But all these reforms were not brought about with- 
out opposition, even if they were tilings of life and 
death to thousands of people and of direct benefit to 
the entire city. Mr. Roosevelt was sued by two land- 
lords who had been compelled to tear down their old 
buildings, but the court upheld the action of Mr. 
Roosevelt and the department of health. The press, 
or a part of it, almost without interruption attacked 
him. It not only criticised all his measures of reform 
but circulated the most damaging lies about his work. 
The most flagrant charges he replied to in other 
papers, but generally he was too busy to give heed to 
mendacious accusations made by a disreputable en- 
emy. He was convinced that the public wished to 
know the truth, that the good sense of the majority of 

[133] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

people would make them favor what is right; and he, 
therefore, took the public into his confidence, did noth- 
ing behind closed doors but gave the fullest publicity 
to all that he was doing. The few disgruntled papers 
could not destroy his faith in the usefulness and integ- 
rity of the press, nor affect his relation to their repre- 
sentatives. He invited a large number of reporters 
to his office, as he had done when a member of the 
Civil Service Commission, and later in other positions, 
so that they might inform themselves and thus be able 
to instruct the public. He even told them more than 
they were allowed to publish ; he then added that this 
and that were not for publication; and the confidence 
which he placed in the " knights of the pen " was 
never betrayed. 

The complaint was frequently made that the police- 
men were boastful and arrogant, that conscious of 
their power they sometimes forgot the courtesy which 
the public might rightfully expect of them. It was 
even charged that they sometimes drove away from 
the office people who came there on business. Mr. 
Roosevelt insisted upon official courtesy, upon the ut- 
most kindness consistent with a faithful discharge of 
duty. And he set the example himself. 

Once during a strike, he invited the leaders of the 
workingmen to meet him and effect a compromise if 
possible. It was early in his administration and the 
men did not yet know him. They rather resented his 
interference and openly boasted that the police would 

[134] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Have to do their bidding. At this Mr. Roosevelt rose 
and said very decisively : 

' ' Gentlemen : We want to understand each other. 
That was the purpose of our coming here. Remem- 
ber, please, that he who advocates force renders the 
worst service to the cause of labor. Bear in mind that 
order will be maintained; the police will maintain it. 
Now let us go on with the discussion, gentlemen. ' ' 

For a moment, the audience were shocked, and acted 
accordingly. They heeded his warning, however, and 
a satisfactory understanding was soon reached. 

Any one could visit Mr. Roosevelt in his own office, 
and he tried to help everybody who desired help. 
That at times silly requests were made of him is not at 
all surprising. The advice which he frequently gave 
to such requests showed plainly that he had not lost 
his sense of humor. He played a harmless, yet an 
amusing trick, on one of our countrymen, who years 
ago was much talked of in Germany. Mr. Ahlwardt, 
the grim hater of the Jews, visited the United States 
in 1895 in order to promote anti-Jewish sentiments. 
He was billed to address a public meeting, but his 
friends in New York feared for his safety, and ap- 
plied to Mr. Roosevelt for protection. 

" What do you fear ? " asked Mr. Roosevelt. 

" Mr. Ahlwardt is very caustic in his remarks," 
they replied, " and we are afraid that the Jews might 
possibly get together and insult him." 

" That is nonsense," coolly answered Mr. Roosevelt, 

[135] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

" there are in New York no more peaceable people 
than the Jews." 

But as the men insisted that a special guard of 
policemen would have a desirable effect on any 
unruly Jew who might be present, Mr. Roosevelt 
finally dismissed them with the assurance that they 
should have sufficient protection on that evening. 
Hardly had the door closed upon the delegation, which 
was very profuse in expressions of appreciation, when 
Mr. Eoosevelt called the captain of the police. He 
told him the circumstances and asked him to select 
from the policemen of New York City thirty men of 
Jewish faith, the more distinctly they showed their 
Semitic origin the better. The captain knew his men, 
and when they reported to Roosevelt for instructions, 
he had to confess that the captain had made a most 
careful selection. He told them what he wanted and 
sent them to the hall where Mr. Ahlwardt was to 
speak. 

Imagine the feelings of Mr. Ahlwardt 's friends 
when they were received at the entrance of the hall by 
a few policemen of whose origin there could not be the 
slightest doubt. Everywhere at the posts and win- 
dows they stood, with their hook noses and black hair, 
erect and ready to protect him who was to speak 
against them and their race. And they did protect 
him. In the audience there were a few Jews, and 
when one of these tried to interrupt the speaker, he 
was seized by the collar and pushed unceremoniously 

[136] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

into the street before the speaker knew that any one 
was trying to disturb him. 

Mr. Ahlwardt, himself, experienced the greatest 
disappointment, however. He missed the noise and 
tumult that always rose wherever he spoke, at home, 
and soon left the land in which his plans for the puri- 
fication of the people met with so little response, 



[137] 



CHAPTER VII 

IN THE NAVY DEPARTMENT 

FOR two years Mr. Roosevelt had been untiringly 
active as head of the department of police of 
New York City. With sleepless vigilance he had 
sought to break up the old system, to check bribery, to 
suppress crime and lawlessness, to protect life and 
property, to ameliorate the hard lot of the poor, and 
to reward his subordinates for faithful performance 
of their task and to punish them for neglect of duty. 
Not only did he keep politics out of his work but 
almost out of his mind. The policemen of New York 
City remember to this day their one-time president 
with high esteem. They realized at the time that a 
man of strong character and high sense of official duty 
guided them; and they repaid him for the confidence 
which he placed in them by confidence and attachment 
in return and by conscientious performance of the 
work assigned them. 

But Mr. Roosevelt was not to remain in the service 
of the New York police long ; an energetic, high-souled 
man was needed in a more important position. On 
March 4, 1897, William McKinley entered upon his 
duties as president of the United States, and Mr. Long 

[138] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

became secretary of the navy, who appointed Mr. 
Roosevelt as his first assistant secretary. While act- 
ing in this capacity Mr. Roosevelt was in a position to 
render most valuable services to the entire country. It 
was a time, too, when great responsibility rested upon 
the Navy Department, for war clouds were gathering 
on the horizon, dark and ominous. If war did come, it 
was evident to all that the navy would have to play a 
leading part. 

Mr. Roosevelt saw clearly that the troubles that had 
been dragging along for years between the United 
States and Spain could be definitely settled only by a 
war. At the bottom of his heart, he was not a lover of 
war. He said in his message to the Fifty-seventh Con- 
gress (December 3, 1901) : 

" The true end of every great and free people should be 
self-respecting peace ; and this Nation most earnestly de- 
sires sincere and cordial friendship with all others. Over the 
entire world, of recent years, wars between the great civ- 
ilized powers have become less and less frequent. Wars with 
barbarous or semi-barbarous peoples come in an entirely dif- 
ferent category, being merely a most regrettable but neces- 
sary international police duty which must be performed for 
the sake of the welfare of mankind. Peace can only be kept 
with certainty where both sides wish to keep it; but more 
and more the civilized peoples are realizing the wicked folly 
of war and are attaining that condition of just and intelli- 
gent regard for the rights of others which will in the end, as 
we hope and believe, make world-wide peace possible." 

In these words, Mr. Roosevelt stated his position 
as to peace clearly and distinctly, as he has oftentimes 

[139] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

done on other occasions. No one loves his home and 
family more than he, no one knows better than he 
what it means to be separated from wife and children, 
from betrothed, from parents, in order to go to war, 
perhaps never to return, or to come back a cripple for 
life. He knows, as every statesman knows, that war- 
like enterprises undermine the prosperity of the coun : 
try, bring commerce to a standstill, and inflict a most 
serious blow to the progress of civilization. He has 
always advocated, therefore, that the difficulties be- 
tween nations should be settled by arbitration. 

No one will deny that, were nations to conduct them- 
selves in that way, peace would be secure. But on 
account of the imperfections of human nature, the 
strong will always be inclined to do injustice to the 
weak, the armed to the unarmed, and, therefore, every 
one must be on his guard, must strive to be strong so 
that he may defend himself when it is necessary. 
"Si vis pacem, para helium 1" If a nation wants 
peace, she must have a strong army and navy, for ' ' the 
voice of the weakling or the coward counts for nothing 
if he calls for peace ; but the voice of the just man in 
arms is powerful." The peace which a country en- 
joys in this way, is an honorable peace, under the pro- 
tection of which the citizen can respect himself, and 
only such a peace is desirable. No one admires a man 
who keeps the peace only because he is afraid, who 
tolerates every species of injustice in order to live in 
peace at any price. We rather admire him who man- 

[1401 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

fully and resolutely solves the problems which are 
presented to him, who lets his neighbor live in peace, 
not because he is afraid of him but because he scorns 
to do wrong; who helps his friends, but arises in his 
might against interference with his rights, be it for- 
eign or domestic. "The man who does not wish to 
fight in order to prevent injustice or to revenge it is 
only a poor creature, but he is after all less dangerous 
than the man who fights on the side of injustice and 
oppression. Again and again the time must come in 
the history of nations when war is the highest duty. 
Peace, however, must be the normal condition, else the 
nation goes quickly to a bloody ruin." Nations as 
well as individuals must know how to secure respect if 
peace is to be honorable and lasting; and just as the 
individual must rely upon the strength of his muscles 
to compel recognition of his just demands, so a nation 
must be strong enough to deter other nations from 
needlessly provoking her to arms, nor must she hesi- 
tate to appeal to the arbitrament of war if necessary. 
"War at best is regrettable, an evil, and should be 
avoided as long as possible ; but when the highest good 
of a people is at stake, when the existence of a nation 
is threatened, when the honor of a State is in danger, 
when the cause of humanity and civilization is in the 
balance, then people should not be afraid to invoke the 
stern god of war. When peaceful entreaties can not 
accomplish anything, the cannons must speak their 
bloody words, and woe to the nation that is not suf- 

[141] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ficiently prepared for that last, worst alternative. Mr. 
Roosevelt's whole philosophy of war and peace may be 
summed up as follows: honorable peace, made secure 
by a strong army and an efficient navy, must be the 
aim of every nation; if necessity should demand the 
drawing of the sword in a just cause, then the people 
must embrace war with a firm heart and carry it to a 
righteous end. That the occasions of war should 
become more and more rare and ultimately cease alto- 
gether is to be wished for devoutly and striven for 
with hope of final success. 

At the time that Mr. Roosevelt was appointed 
assistant secretary of the navy, April, 1897, war with 
Spain was already in the air. The peace which the 
United States enjoyed with Spain was gradually be- 
coming dishonorable on account of the bad manage- 
ment of Spain in the island of Cuba. Every year the 
yellow fever, which originated in the unsanitary con- 
ditions in Cuba, spread to the shores of the United 
States and took its deadly toll from American homes. 
It was like living near a pest-house over which one has 
no control. The United States could see what needed 
to be done, knew how to do it, but could not, because 
Spain would say, ' ' It is no affair of yours. ' ' But the 
yellow fever was not all that tried the patience of the 
American people. Within gun-shot of her shores 
almost, a vile and corrupt government reigned supreme. 
The officers of the law, hired minions of Spain, commit- 
ted crimes against the people that made civilized 

[142 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

nations shudder with horror. Insurrections which 
broke out here and there were crushed with the cruelty 
of tyranny, but rebellion was not put down in one part 
of the island till it raised its determined head in 
another. The cry for help crossed the channel and 
kindled sympathy in every American breast. Yet the 
United States government remained neutral and used 
its good offices to bring about peace. 

But its good offices were rejected by haughty Spain. 
She refused even to consider the proposition to sell the 
" Pearl of the Antilles " to the United States. She 
would rule her possessions without the aid of other 
nations and rule them in her own way. The natives, 
stirred by the hatred that had been burning and 
increasing in fervency for a half century, rose against 
their tormentors anew and turned to the United States 
for help. The islanders thought, and naturally, that 
the United States were their God-given friends. They 
had themselves struggled for liberty against a power- 
ful enemy. 

Then, too, the commercial interests of the United 
States in Cuba were great. Horrifying reports of 
conditions in the island reached the outside world; 
and public opinion in the United States demanded in- 
tervention, armed intervention if necessary, but inter- 
vention at any cost. But President McKinley, who 
was naturally a man of peace and who knew that 
intervention meant war, and a war for which the 
United States was ill prepared, hesitated. His atti- 

[143] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

tude, however, did not change Mr. Roosevelt's con- 
viction that war was inevitable. 

One day he was sitting in the committee room in 
Washington with his friend, Senator Lodge of Massa- 
chusetts, when a German, a cigar manufacturer from 
Boston, who travelled once or twice each year in Cuba, 
entered for a conversation with Senator Lodge. He 
told how, on his last trip, he had visited several cities 
of the interior in which he had formerly done business 
but which he found deserted and destroyed. The mis- 
ery of the interior of the island was beyond descrip- 
tion. In one place, he seated himself in a small hotel 
for dinner. A meagre fare it was, but, while he ate, a 
crowd of pale and hungry women, half-naked, with 
starving babies at dry breasts, crawled about his chair 
like dogs and fought for the crumbs that fell from his 
plate. Big tears rolled down the German's cheeks as 
he told the story. He had not been able to eat or 
sleep, but had hastened to Washington in order to 
report there what he had seen. 

The story of the German made a deep impression 
upon Mr. Roosevelt. He thought of his own children, 
to whom he was strongly attached; and he, whose 
anger the smile of an innocent baby can disarm, he, 
who kisses the babies that fond mothers hold up to him 
and around whom the children gather by thousands 
when he visits any city in the United States, he, the 
apostle of a pure, unspotted family life, who even 
to-day as president does not enter a home before a 

[144 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

woman, — he was convinced that the interests of 
humanity demanded a war with Spain. He was in 
sympathy with the press of the country which pointed 
out that it was disadvantageous to the reputation of 
the United States to let a European nation possess 
American soil which it was incapable of governing 
in a moral and enlightened manner. Though no one 
in America questioned the historic title of Spain to 
Cuba, every one thought that she had forfeited all the 
rights which she had ever possessed by her failure to 
give to the island a just and stable government. The 
American people felt that the time had come when the 
United States should demand that Spain withdraw 
from American soil, and that the United States her- 
self restore order in the distressed island in the name 
of common humanity. Mr. Roosevelt, who was a firm 
advocate of the Monroe Doctrine, repeatedly said in 
the circle of his friends that the war must come and 
the sooner the better. He believed war not only inevi- 
table but even desirable, and would have liked to begin 
with a master-stroke before Spain was prepared. 
His friend, Francis E. Leupp, says : * 

" One Sunday morning in March, 1898, we were sitting in 
his library discussing the significance of the news that Cer- 
vera's squadron was about to sail for Cuba, when he suddenly 
rose and brought his hands together with a resounding clap. 

"'If I could do what I pleased,' he exclaimed, 'I would 

*From Leupp 's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

[145] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

send Spain notice to-day that we should consider her despatch 
of that squadron a hostile act. Then, if she didn't heed the 
warning, she would have to take the consequences.' 

' ' ' You are sure, ' I asked, ' that it is with unfriendly in- 
tent that she is sending the squadron ? ' 

1 ' ' What else can it be ? The Cubans have no navy ; there- 
fore the squadron can not be coming to fight the insurgents. 
The only naval power interested in Cuban affairs is the 
United States. Spain is simply forestalling the " brush " 
which she knows, as we do, is coming sooner or later. ' 

' ' ' And if she refused to withdraw the orders to Cervera — ' 
" ' I should send out a squadron to meet his on the high 
seas and smash it! Then I would force the fighting from 
that day to the end of the war. ' ' ' 

Although Mr. Koosevelt and the public at large 
advocated war energetically, the members of the cabi- 
net were divided in opinion. Several of the secreta- 
ries favored peace, others could not come to any defi- 
nite decision, and the president himself hesitated. 
i ' But since he had learned, ' ' says Leupp, ' ' that Mr. 
Roosevelt had formed a definite opinion about what 
the situation demanded, he sent for him one morning 
and listened to his plans. "When the question was dis- 
cussed in the cabinet the same day, the president 
remarked with a smile, ' Gentlemen, not one of you 
has put half as much enthusiasm into his expressions 
as Mr. Roosevelt, our assistant secretary of the navy. 
He has laid out the whole programme of the war. ' 

" ' Could you not induce him to work out a written 
report as a model for us ? ' queried one of the members 
of the cabinet in the same tone as that of the president. 

[146] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 



a i 



I can do better than that,' replied President Mc- 
Kinley, < I can call him in and let you hear for your- 
selves.' " 

The proposal met with general approval and Mr. 
Roosevelt was sent for. He accepted the invitation 
at once. President McKinley asked him a few lead- 
ing questions to give him a start, and the whole cabinet 
leaned back in their chairs and listened to a second 
edition of what the president had heard before; but 
this time it was repeated with even greater enthusiasm 
and accompanied with many expressive gestures. 
When he had finished and left the room, the president 
smiled, three or four of the others laughed aloud. 
Those who did not laugh were impressed by the seri- 
ousness of the situation, though they found something 
amusing in what appeared to them to be the exagger- 
ated enthusiasm and radical views of the assistant 
secretary. That very evening the scene in the cabi- 
net room was the topic of discussion in the Washington 
clubs. 

But Mr. Roosevelt did not confine himself to mak- 
ing speeches in favor of the war and working out 
plans for the actual conflict, but he did everything pos- 
sible to get ready for hostilities so that the outbreak of 
the war might not find the United States wholly unpre- 
pared. _ Though he was only assistant secretary and 
his duties consisted in the main in carrying out the 
orders of his superior, Secretary Long, he saw to it 
that his commands were carried out with energy and 

[147] 



FROM KOUG-H RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

» 

despatch. He aroused the whole sluggish, awkward 
government machinery and was the soul of the Navy 
Department. Secretary Long could very truthfully 
say of him after he had resigned, " He was very effi- 
cient in the discharge of his duties, and the entire 
department felt the stimulus of his personality for a 
long time." 

The care of the fleet rested in a large measure on 
his shoulders, and it had to be taken for granted that, 
in case of war with Spain, the navy would have enough 
to do. In order to acquaint himself with naval affairs, 
he studied carefully the technical naval literature of 
the English, the French, and the Germans, and made 
himself thoroughly familiar with the condition of the 
Spanish navy. The Lista de Buqnes informed him as 
to the number and tonnage of the Spanish ships, and 
though he knew that much of what he found there, 
although it looked well on paper, was old and worm- 
eaten, nevertheless he was worried to know that the 
Spaniards, on account of their torpedo-destroyers, had 
an advantage over the American fleet. The motion of 
Senator Lodge to appropriate money to build more 
torpedo-destroyers had not carried, and Mr. Roose- 
velt, therefore, looked forward with some anxiety to a 
sea-fight. That the Spanish destroyers did not seri- 
ously harm the American fleet was not due to the supe- 
riority of the American ships but to the inactivity and 
mistakes of the Spanish officers. 

Congress had refused the request for a very large 

[148] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

appropriation for increasing the navy, it granted, 
however, other important concessions to Mr. Roose- 
velt. Soon after entering upon the duties of his office, 
he asked for $500,000 for the purpose of buying ammu- 
nition, and Congress gave it to him. But when a few 
months later he sought $800,000 more for the same 
purpose, Congress hesitated and inquired what he had 
done with the first $500,000. Mr. Roosevelt replied 
that he had used it in buying powder and guns and that 
every grain of the powder had been consumed. He 
also said that the $800,000 asked for would be spent for 
ammunition for target practice. Congress voted the 
second allowance, also. 

In this way, he saw to it that the sailor boys were 
instructed in shooting, " for in war," he once said, 
" only the shots that hit count." But he did not stop 
with target practice. He bought and manned ships 
for the invasion of Cuba, which he saw must ultimately 
be made. He enlisted and drilled recruits, and did all 
in his power to remove the old jealousy between the 
officers and the engineers. He united the warships of 
the Atlantic into one squadron, that they might have 
an opportunity for manoeuvring, so that there might 
be concerted action when the hour came for an attack 
upon Cuba or the coast of Spain. The torpedo-boats 
were organized into a flotilla and thoroughly disci- 
plined. He recalled the smaller vessels from Euro- 
pean and South American waters and selected the 
steamers, which, in case of war, were to be used as 

[149] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

auxiliary cruisers, and held them in readiness. He col- 
lected provisions and coal, and munitions of war of 
every description, and stored them at suitable places. 
It was due to the foresight of Mr. Roosevelt that 
Admiral Dewey found ammunition and coal at Hong 
Kong at the outbreak of the war and was thus enabled 
to reach Manila a week before he had been expected. 

That Mr. Roosevelt encountered many difficulties in 
the discharge of his duties is not surprising. There 
have always been people who are ready to take advan- 
tage of their country in an hour of need. He met with 
a painful experience when he came to buy coal vessels 
at the beginning of the war. Many boats were offered 
to him, it is true, but they were in such miserable con- 
dition that they were far more ready for the dry-dock 
than for carrying coal on the high sea; and the 
prices demanded for them were enormous — frequently 
wholly out of proportion to their value if they had 
been in good repair. 

Now, Mr. Roosevelt might have compiled the names 
of the ships, their owners, and the quality of the 
vessels and the prices demanded for them and pub- 
lished the list in the newspapers. That would have cre- 
ated a sensation, and the owners would have been 
marked; but the excitement of the people would have 
soon subsided and the government would have had no 
ships. If, on the other hand, he paid the prices asked 
by the agents, who were unwilling to take less inas- 
much as they knew that the government was at their 

[150 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

mercy, he might expect at the close of the war to be 
reprimanded or even sued for mismanagement of pub- 
lic business, for the prices demanded were many times 
what could be got for the vessels in time of peace. 
But there was no way out of the dilemma. The gov- 
ernment had to have ships and there was no other way 
to get them. That he protested against the exorbi- 
tant prices and sometimes expressed his ill-humor 
and disgust with the men who demanded them, the 
words of Mr. Leupp,* who was an eye witness to one 
interview between Mr. Roosevelt and an agent for the 
owners of some vessels, will show : 

" I burst in upon him one day at the department without 
warning, and found him in the middle of the floor, indulg- 
ing in some very spirited talk to a visitor. As I was hastily 
withdrawing, he called me back. 

1 ' ' Stay here, ' said he ; ' I want to see you. ' Then he 
abruptly turned from me and again faced the third party, 
in whom I recognized, as the light fell on his face, a lawyer 
of some prominence and an office-holder under a former ad- 
ministration. Mr. Roosevelt's teeth were set, and very much 
in evidence, in the peculiar way they always are when he is 
angry. His spectacle-lenses seemed to throw off electric sparks 
as his head moved quickly this way and that in speaking; 
and his right fist came down from time to time upon the op- 
posite palm as if it were an adversary's face. And this was 
about the way he delivered himself: 

" ' Don't you feel ashamed to come to me to-day with an- 
other offer, after what you did yesterday? Don't you think 



*From Leupp 's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

[151] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

that to sell one rotten ship to the Government is enough for a 
single week? Are you in such a hurry that you couldn't 
wait even over Sunday to force your damaged goods upon 
the United States? Is it an excess of patriotism that brings 
you here day after day, in this way, or only your realization 
of our necessities ? ' 

' ' ' Why, our clients — ' began the lawyer. 

" ' Yes, I know all about your clients,' burst in the as- 
sistant secretary. ' I congratulate them on having an attor- 
ney who will do work for them which he wouldn't have the 
face to do for himself. I should think, after having enjoyed 
the honors you have at the hands of the Government, you 'd 
feel a keen pride in your present occupation! No, I don't 
want any more of your old tubs. The one I bought yester- 
day is good for nothing except to sink somewhere in the 
path of the enemy's fleet. It will be God's mercy if she 
does n 't go down with brave men on her — men who go to 
war and risk their lives, instead of staying home to sell rotten 
hulks to the Government.' 

' ' The air of the attorney as he bowed himself out was almost 
pitiable. The special glint did not fade from Mr. Roosevelt's 
glasses, nor did his jaws relax or his fist unclench, till the 
door closed on the retreating figure. Then his face lighted 
with a smile as he advanced to greet me. 

' ' ' You came just in time, ' he cried. ' I wanted you to 
hear what I had to say to that fellow ; not ' — and here his 
voice rose on the high falsetto wave which is always a sign 
that he is enjoying an idea while framing it in words — 
' not that it would add materially to the sum of your pleasure, 
but that it would humiliate him to have any one else present 
while I gave him his punishment. It is the only means I have 
of getting even.' " 

In spite of all such difficulties, Mr. Eoosevelt ad- 
hered firmly to his purpose to prepare the American 
navy for a war with Spain. In the meantime, the 

[152] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

waves of national indignation against Spain rose 
higher and higher. It needed only some outside stimu- 
lus to enkindle that indignation into the flames of 
war. 

The fatal stimulus came. Apparently as an act of 
national courtesy but in reality for the protection of 
American interests in Cuba, the United States sent the 
battleship Maine to Havana, and on the evening of 
February 15, 1898, it was blown up in Havana harbor 
and two hundred and sixty American sailors were 
killed. 

The Spaniards were at once accused of having caused 
the explosion. The court of inquiry, composed of 
Americans and Spaniards, which was immediately 
appointed, could not agree. The Americans main- 
tained that the disaster was due to a mine which had 
been accidentally or purposely set off; the Spaniards 
insisted that one of the ship's own magazine chests 
had exploded. No definite proof could be found to 
show that any one was to blame for the destruction of 
the vessel and the death of the sailors. The Ameri- 
can people were almost wild with rage against Spain 
and clamored loudly for war. 

President McKinley in response to the demand of 
the people asked Spain to withdraw her land and naval 
forces from Cuba before April 23. Spain replied by 
recalling her plenipotentiary from Washington, and 
handing the American representative at Madrid his 
passport. War now actually existed, and on April 20, 

[153] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

1898, President McKinley issued a proclamation to 
that effect. 

The finished programme which we have already 
spoken of Mr. Roosevelt's presenting to President Mc- 
Kinley and his cabinet provided not only that Cuba 
should be made the scene of war, but that the Spanish 
possessions in the East should also be taken. The man 
to whom he wished to entrust that task was Admiral 
Dewey. Though Admiral Dewey was called a fop 
and dandy in the United States, Mr. Roosevelt knew 
that he had a lion's heart and would know the right 
moment to strike. He had already been sent into 
Chinese waters where he was to stay till he received 
the orders which should call him into action. When 
the War Department ordered the Olympia home, Mr. 
Roosevelt got the order revoked and sent a cablegram 
to Admiral Dewey, "Keep the Olympia. Provide 
yourself with coal." 

Mr. Roosevelt had done all in his power to get the 
fleet in war trim, and hardly had President McKinley 
declared war, when Mr. Roosevelt signed the des- 
patch to Admiral Dewey which ordered him to sail 
into the port of Manila and to capture or destroy the 
Spanish fleet. Only the extensive preparations of Mr. 
Roosevelt made it possible for Admiral Dewey to 
enter Manila Bay on the night of April 30 and May 1 
and to destroy all the Spanish ships but one in a fight 
of less than two hours. 

Mr. Roosevelt considered his work as done at the 

[1541 



FKOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

outbreak of the war. He had made preparations for 
the struggle, had sharpened the weapons of war; and 
now asked to be relieved. ' ' I have nothing more to do 
here," he said, " I must go to war myself." Presi- 
dent McKinley and Secretary of the Navy Long both 
urged him to keep his position, as they felt he was 
more needed there than at the front. His friends also 
attempted to dissuade him from exposing himself to 
the vicissitudes of a campaign ; the women of the cabi- 
net reminded him that he had six children, the oldest 
of whom was only ten and the youngest a few months, 
and that he would leave a great responsibility on his 
wife if he went and were killed — besides the sacrifice 
was not necessary, as there were many young men 
who were ready and eager to go. But in spite of all 
entreaties he stuck to his purpose. " I have done what 
I could to bring about the war," he said, " because I 
believed that it would come anyway sooner or later; 
now that it has come, I have no right to ask others to 
fight it out while I remain at home." He, therefore, 
closed up his affairs and started for the South as soon 
as a suitable command could be found for him. 



[155] 



CHAPTER VIII 

EOOSEVELT IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 

THE regular army of the United States, which 
ought, according to law, to number thirty thou- 
sand men, consisted at the opening of the Spanish- 
American War of only twenty-six thousand; and, as 
the fighting strength of the militia of the various States 
is not great, a call for volunteers was issued. Con- 
gress further provided for the enlisting of three regi- 
ments of cavalry, as it was thought that the plains of 
the West and Southwest with their many bold riders 
and fearless marksmen would furnish very dashing 
and successful chargers. 

Mr. Roosevelt and his friend Leonard Wood, who 
also wished to take an active part in the war, had for 
days been trying to get a suitable command. Several 
generals agreed to take them on their staffs ; but they 
declined on the ground that they preferred to go to 
the front. Mr. Wood had hoped to get a commission 
from his native State, Massachusetts, and Mr. Roose- 
velt had applied to the colonel of the Seventy-first, 
with whom he was acquainted, but both had been re- 
jected. The secretary of war, Mr. Alger, offered Mr. 

[156] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Roosevelt one of the three new cavalry regiments to 
be organized. Although Mr. Roosevelt had belonged 
to the State militia of New York from 1884 to 1888 and 
had served as lieutenant and for three years as cap- 
tain in the Eighth Regiment, he had had no war expe- 
rience and did not feel capable of taking command of 
a regiment. He, therefore, replied to the secretary 
of war that he should be satisfied as lieutenant col- 
onel if his friend Wood were made colonel. It would 
take at least a month, he said, to learn how to lead a 
regiment, and even a month he did not like to waste in 
that way. President McKinley and Mr. Alger ap- 
proved of Mr. Roosevelt's plan and appointed Wood 
as colonel and Roosevelt as lieutenant colonel of the 
First Volunteer Regiment of ''Rough Riders." 

Colonel Leonard Wood had been originally a physi- 
cian and surgeon, and, as a member of the medical 
staff, had been with General Miles against the Apaches. 
Being naturally a man of strong physique and free 
from debilitating excesses of every kind, he had hard- 
ened himself until he was almost equal to the Apache 
in power of physical endurance. Though he was a 
doctor, he had a certain longing for adventure which 
prompted him to like the life of a warrior. He had 
received the medal for courage shown in several expe- 
ditions under his leadership against the Indians. His 
friendship with Mr. Roosevelt was only of late date, 
for he was assistant secretary of war when Mr. 
Roosevelt became acquainted with him. The two men 

[157] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

soon found that they had much in common : they were 
both men of strong personality; they both had high 
ideals of public service; and they both believed thor- 
oughly in the war with Spain and realized the impor- 
tance of prosecuting it with vigor. 

The assistance of his more experienced friend was 
a great help to Mr. Roosevelt, but the favor bestowed 
was not all on one side. Colonel Wood would have 
found difficulty in equipping the regiment in the time 
at their disposal had it not been for the aid of Mr. 
Roosevelt. The regiment was to be raised from the 
Southern and Western States: from Arizona, New 
Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. No sooner was it 
known that Mr. Roosevelt was to be on the staff of 
the regiment than requests for enlistment poured in 
from all sides. A brigade, or even a division, it 
seemed, could easily have been formed, and it was 
often difficult to decide who should be accepted. 

The difficulty was made all the greater from the fact 
that the regiment was at first limited to seven hun- 
dred and eighty men and in a general way to the 
States before mentioned. Later the number was 
raised to one thousand men, and Mr. Roosevelt was 
able to enlist some men from other States who were 
especially desirable applicants. It was a strange 
combination that was finally brought together. The 
majority of the men were cowboys, who had been used 
to the saddle and knew how to use their guns. To 
them were added the hunter of the backwoods, who 

[158 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

was not afraid to follow the grizzly bear into his own 
wilderness alone, the trap-setter of the Rockies, the 
path-finder and the Indian fighter, and even the Indian 
himself. And alongside the sons of the prairies were 
members of the most aristocratic clubs of New York 
and Boston, students of Harvard, Yale, and Prince- 
ton who had begged to be enlisted as privates, and 
even members of the New York police force sought a 
place under their former chief. These men were not re- 
ceived, however, unless they could prove superior abil- 
ity as horsemen and as shooters and were physically 
able to endure the hardships to which the men of the 
plains were accustomed. 

To transform such a mixed company into an effici- 
ent regiment was a task to stagger less determined 
men than Wood and Roosevelt. Even Mr. Roosevelt's 
optimism was not proof against doubt when he saw 
the various classes represented in the regiment. 
There were men enlisted with whom he had one time 
been on familiar terms : there was a Harvard student, 
a well-known sportsman in Roosevelt's college days, 
and Robert Monroe Ferguson, who had had an inter- 
est in Roosevelt's farm on the Little Missouri and had 
been his companion on many a hunting trip. These 
men had both enlisted as privates, and there were 
other men in the ranks that he had, at one time or an- 
other, known in a less intimate way. About fifty of 
these men who had enlisted in Washington, he called 
together before the oath was administered and ex- 

[159] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

plained to them what they might expect. He told them 
that they would not only have to fight but that they 
would have to do disagreeable, monotonous work day 
in and day out ; that they would have to defy fever as 
well as the bullets of the enemy ; that they would have 
to hold themselves in readiness to obey every com- 
mand without hesitation, were it to occupy a fort or to 
charge the enemy. He informed them further that 
no soldier had a right to complain but that it was his 
duty to do faithfully and cheerfully whatever he was 
commanded. He then said that they were still at lib- 
erty to go back to their homes if they wished, but that, 
after they had taken the oath, there would be no turn- 
ing aside, no giving up. But not one faltered. They 
were sent immediately to San Antonio where the regi- 
ment was to be formed. Colonel Wood went to take 
charge of the regiment, but Mr. Roosevelt remained in 
Washington a few days longer in order to hasten as 
much as possible the regimental supplies. 

Colonel Wood and Mr. Roosevelt were very eager 
to get into the firing line. They knew, however, that 
the most difficult work would be given to the regular 
army, and they did all in their power to get for their 
regiment the same equipment as was given to the 
regular army, in the hope that their regiment might 
be joined to a brigade of the regular army and sent to 
the front, even if the war lasted only a short time. 

In the matter of equipment, they were successful. 
They received for their regiment the Krag-Joergensen 

[160 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

carbines of the same pattern then in use in the cavalry 
of the standing army. As sabres were entirely un- 
known to the sons of the prairies, the leaders decided 
to substitute for the sabres revolvers, with which the 
men had been familiar all their lives. On account of 
the energetic action of Mr. Eoosevelt, the equipment 
was on hand in a very short time, and the necessary 
drilling begun, which was not as difficult as it might 
appear, for the regiment was not drilled for parade 
but for service in the field. The task was made much 
easier because the officers as well as the men in the 
ranks were eager to learn everything as quickly as 
possible, for they knew that only by so doing could 
they hope to get to the front. Besides, the men were 
already skilled horsemen and crack shots ; they needed 
only to be drilled to act in concert and to obey com- 
mands instantly. 

Those who know something of the time necessary to 
drill an ordinary regiment for the regular army will 
be surprised to learn that in one month the First Regi- 
ment of Rough Riders could bear a very favorable 
comparison with the regulars. One would be tempted 
to believe that Wood and Roosevelt were satisfied 
with a mastery of the more important movements and 
excused the rest by saying that a regiment could not 
be thoroughly drilled in so short a time, and besides, 
that they wished to give to the men as much freedom 
as possible. But such was not the case. With the 
exception of the use of the sabre, which we have 

[1611 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

already said was not attempted at all, all the manoeu- 
vres of the cavalry of the regular army were prac- 
tised. Though with us the parade drill is usually 
learned more readily than the drill in the open field, 
with Eoosevelt's regiment it was different. They 
learned quickly how to act on the firing line, on patrol 
and on outpost duty and encountered their greatest 
trouble in the parade drills. 

Many of the men had lived in the saddle and had 
scarcely walked a mile in their lives. To them march- 
ing on foot was torture. On the other hand, they had 
in the main grown up upon the frontiers ; they knew 
what it was to meet unlooked-for dangers and to take 
the advantage of every possible covering which nature 
offered them ; and above all they had acquired an indi- 
vidual independence and initiative which made the 
service in the open field easy for them. 

Much more interesting and comfortable for them 
became the work when they began drill on horseback. 
Every morning the regiment marched out into the 
country near San Antonio for drill and was put 
through all the manoeuvres known to the regular cav- 
alry service. In addition, they were trained as 
mounted infantry, a form of service which appealed 
to Mr. Roosevelt very strongly, for the reason that it 
unites the merits of cavalry and infantry: it has the 
mobility of cavalry and the fighting supremacy of 
infantry. During our own colonial wars of recent 
years, the mounted infantry has come into its own. 

[162 1 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

In spite of his confidence in mounted infantry, Mr. 
Roosevelt thought highly of the effectiveness of cav- 
alry properly trained, and he drilled his regiment 
accordingly. He says in his "Rough Riders":* 

"As it turned out, we were not used mounted at all, so 
that our preparations on this point came to nothing. In a 
way, I have always regretted this. We thought we should 
at least be employed as cavalry in the great campaign against 
Havana in the fall ; and from the beginning I began to 
train my men in shock tactics for use against hostile cavalry. 
My belief was that the horse was really the weapon with 
which to strike the first blow. I felt that if my men could be 
trained to hit their adversaries with their horses, it was a 
matter of small amount whether, at the moment when the 
onset occurred, sabres, lances, or revolvers were used ; while 
in the subsequent melee I believed the revolver would out- 
class cold steel as a weapon. But this is all guesswork, for 
we never had occasion to try the experiment. ' ' 

The regiment camped near San Antonio, and after 
drill, in the evenings, there were lively times about 
there. In the beginning, the men were not as careful 
as they might have been in regard to cleanliness, but 
Colonel Wood made that his particular duty and soon 
they had a neat and orderly camp. The spirit of the 
men was excellent. All of them were there because 
they wanted to be, they were eager to learn so that 
they could go to the front, and willingly obeyed all 
orders without murmuring. The strict discipline of 



•" The Rough Riders," by Theodore Roosevelt. Copyright 
England and America, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

[163] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the soldier's life may have been hard for some of the 
backwoodsmen and rangers; but they never com- 
plained and, if they failed in the discharge of any 
duty, they failed through ignorance, not from 
design. 

The relation existing between the men was most 
friendly. For instance, a cook one day summoned the 
colonel and three majors to dinner with these words: 
" If you fellows don't come soon, everything will be 
cold." A private soldier who had learned the manual 
of arms with difficulty proudly presented arms when 
Mr. Roosevelt passed, and added with a friendly nod 
of the head, " Good-evening, Colonel. " One night 
when the mosquitoes were very annoying, Colonels 
"Wood and Roosevelt stepped out of their tents and 
saw a soldier on guard who was also fighting mos- 
quitoes. He put his gun aside, sat down on the ground 
and began deliberately to hunt for an insect which had 
got up his leg. When he perceived that his superiors 
were watching, he nodded in a friendly manner and 
remarked as though it were no breach of military 
etiquette, ' ' These insects are intolerable. ' ' Such 
little, unmilitary slips of the tongue were always 
taken as they were meant, and one word was sufficient 
to remind the men that they were soldiers. 

A particularly picturesque group, one possible only 
in an American regiment, were the Indians. They 
belonged to the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and 
Creeks, and were in only a few cases full-bloods. 

[164] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

These native Americans were always on the best 
terms with their white brothers. 

Roosevelt says, in the book previously quoted: 

" Not all of the Indians were from the Indian Territory. 
One of the gamest fighters and best soldiers in the regiment 
was Pollock, a full-blooded Pawnee. He had been educated. 
like most of the other Indians, at one of those admirable In- 
dian schools which have added so much to the total of the 
small credit account with which the white race balance the 
very unpleasant debit account of its dealings with the red. 
Pollock was a silent, solitary fellow — an excellent penman, 
much given to drawing pictures. When we got down to 
Santiago he developed into the regimental clerk. I never 
suspected him of having a sense of humor until one day, at 
the end of our stay in Cuba, as he was sitting in the adju- 
tant's tent working over the returns, there turned up a 
trooper of the First who had been acting as barber. Eying 
him with immovable face Pollock asked, in a guttural voice, 
' Do you cut hair ? ' The man answered ' Yes' ; and Pol- 
lock continued, ' Then you 'd better cut mine,' muttering, 
in an explanatory soliloquy, ' Don't want to wear my hair 
long like a wild Indian when I 'm in civilized warfare.' 

" Another Indian came from Texas. He was a brakeman 
on the Southern Pacific, and wrote telling me he was an 
American Indian, and that he wanted to enlist. His name 
was Colbert, which at once attracted my attention ; for I was 
familiar with the history of the Cherokees and Chickasaws 
during the eighteenth century, when they lived east of the 
Mississippi. Early in that century various traders, chiefly 
Scotchmen, settled among them, and the half-breed descend- 
ants of one named Colbert became the most noted chiefs of 
the Chickasaws. I summoned the applicant before me, and 
found that he was an excellent man, and, as I had supposed, 
a descendant of the old Chickasaw chiefs. 

' ' He brought into the regiment, by the way, his ' partner, ' 

[165] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

a white man. The two had been inseparable companions for 
some years, and continued so in the regiment. Every man 
who has lived in the West knows that, vindictive though the 
hatred between the white man and the Indian is when they 
stand against one another in what may be called their tribal 
relations, yet that men of Indian blood, when adopted into 
white communities, are usually treated precisely like any 
one else. 

" Colbert was not the only Indian whose name I recognized. 
There was a Cherokee named Adair, whom, upon inquiry, I 
found to be descended from the man who, a century and a half 
ago, wrote a ponderous folio, to this day of great interest, 
about the Cherokees, with whom he had spent the best years 
of his life as a trader and agent. 

" I don't know that I ever came across a man with a 
really sweeter nature than another Cherokee named Holder- 
man. He was an excellent soldier, and for a long time acted 
as cook for the headquarters mess. He was a half-breed, and 
came of a soldier stock on both sides and through both races. 
He explained to me once why he had come to the war; that 
it was because his people always had fought when there was 
a war, and he could not feel happy to stay at home when the 
flag was going into battle. ' ' 

On May 29, the regiment received the long-looked- 
for order to go to the front. Their first stopping 
place was Tampa, Florida, and the transport steamer 
did not really weigh anchor until June 13. 

The journey from San Antonio to Tampa was a try- 
ing one. They were on the train forty-eight hours, 
and when they reached their destination, they found 
that no preparations had been made for them, no food 
for the men, no water for the horses. They got off 
the train nine miles out of Tampa because they knew 

[166] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

that they would be in worse shape if they entered the 
city under the circumstances. Colonel "Wood ordered 
camp pitched in the most desirable place he could 
find. The commissary, however, was helpless, he 
could do nothing for men nor horses ; and Mr. Roose- 
velt bought provisions out of his own pocket, and for 
the time the regiment was provided for. 

A few days later an order was received from Tampa 
for the regiment to take the train for Tampa at 2 :00 
a.m. But that order contained also a disappoint- 
ment, for it called for only eight companies of seventy 
men each and commanded that all the horses and the 
greater part of the baggage should be left behind. 
The regiment originally consisted of ten companies of 
one hundred men each, and the selection of those who 
should go was a hard task. The men begged and wept 
like children not to be left behind. It was also a 
severe blow to the cowboys to be compelled to give up 
their horses. But they did not complain, and those 
who drew the lucky lots were jubilant and ready to 
start at 2 :00 a.m. 

But the difficulties were not yet ended. They had 
been ordered to go, but no way had been prepared to 
reach Tampa. Mr. Roosevelt was afraid that the 
whole regiment would be left behind, because they 
could not get on their transports in time. Regiments of 
regulars entered the empty coaches but they seemed 
no better off than the volunteers, for the cars did not 
move. Some distance away was another line leading 

[ 167 ] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

to Tampa and the regiment was marched through the 
darkness to it, but with no better result. At last, how- 
ever, Mr. Eoosevelt found a number of empty coal 
cars of which he immediately took possession. He 
appealed to an engineer to run the train to Tampa on 
the best time possible. Covered with coal dust, they 
finally reached the pier at Tampa and saw the trans- 
port ships in waiting. The men were bubbling over 
with joy for they thought they should soon be upon 
the water. 

But the troubles of the regiment were not yet over, 
at least for the commanders. They could not find out 
which steamer they were to take. They inquired of 
every general they saw, but no one seemed to know 
anything about it. For hours they searched for the 
quartermaster, who ought to know, but they could not 
find him. It was insisted that he slept on one of the 
transports while thousands of men were waiting for 
his orders. Be that as it may, he was at last found, and 
ordered the "Rough Riders" to the Yucatan. 

Then by chance Mr. Roosevelt learned that the 
quartermaster had selected the same ship for two 
other regiments. He, therefore, hastened to his regi- 
ment and brought them on double-quick to the water, 
while Colonel Wood went out to the Yucatan, which 
lay in mid-stream, and had her brought to the land. 
In spite of the protests of other regiments, that had 
now put in an appearance, the "Rough Riders," with- 
out horses, went on board. After thirty-six hours of 

[168] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

hard work and more trying excitement, the men were 
glad of a rest upon the transport. 

But their patience was to be tried yet further. On 
account of a rumor — a false rumor, as was after- 
wards learned — that Spanish warships were coming 
between Florida and Cuba, Major-General Shafter 
ordered the departure to be postponed until the way 
was clear. For six days the transports were held in 
Tampa by the groundless fear of a hostile war-vessel. 
Time hung heavily on the hands of the soldiers who 
were eager for a fight ; and everybody breathed a sigh 
of relief when the transports moved out into the open 
sea, under the protection of the American warships. 

The destination of the transports was known only 
to General Shafter, which was strange, for up to this 
time the War Department had let all their plans be 
published in such a way that the Spaniards always 
knew beforehand what the Americans were going to 
do. For instance, the despatching of a fast cruiser to 
Cuban waters for the purpose of finding out what was 
being done there was announced in the American 
press two days before the departure of the ship, so 
that the Spaniards were looking for it when it hove in 
sight and watched its movements with interest. For 
these reasons, the sealed orders under which the 
transports were sailing kept the excitement of the 
soldiers at the highest pitch, for they felt that some- 
thing was in the wind. 

The voyage itself was not particularly pleasant. 

[169] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The men were crowded together like sardines in a box ; 
the water was bad; the meat, poor. But since they 
were all jolly young men inured to privations, they 
did not feel the discomforts so much; and then, too, 
they knew that the voyage would be short and they 
could stand anything for a time. 

The transports, thirty in all, with fifteen thousand 
men on board, in a long line one behind the other 
headed south, then east, closely guarded by all kinds 
of warships, from mail-ships and fast cruisers to reg- 
ular battleships and torpedo boats. When on the sev- 
enth day the fleet turned south again, they knew that 
they were going to Santiago. On the morning of June 
22, the Yucatan cast anchor in the port of Daiquiri, a 
few miles east of Santiago. 

The same confusion that accompanied the embark- 
ing reigned again when they came to land. After the 
warships had bombarded Daiquiri and vicinity for a 
time to drive away any Spaniards who might offer 
resistance to the landing, each commanding officer 
had to see to it himself that his regiment got to shore. 
On account of the small number of boats and the 
strong surf that was rolling upon the coast, it took 
several days for the entire expedition to disembark. 
Mr. Eoosevelt's regiment was one of the first to get 
ashore, for the commander of one of the smaller war- 
ships, who had been his adjutant while he was secre- 
tary of the navy, helped in getting the regiment ashore. 
The entire regiment was enabled to disembark during 

[170] 



FROM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the afternoon. The horses of the officers and the few 
mules that they were permitted to take with them 
were on another transport ; they were thrown into the 
water to swim to land. One of Mr. Roosevelt's two 
horses was drowned, but the other one swam ashore. 

The corps which, under the command of Major- 
General Shafter, was to carry on the war in Cuba, con- 
sisted of two infantry divisions and one cavalry, of 
three brigades each. Major-General Wheeler, a vet- 
eran of the Civil War and a dashing cavalry leader, 
commanded the cavalry. His second brigade was 
under Brigadier-General Young, and was composed of 
the First and the Tenth Regiments of regular cavalry, 
the latter a negro regiment, and the First Regiment of 
Volunteers, usually known as the " Rough Riders." 
The first detachment of infantry which went ashore 
was under the command of Brigadier-General Law- 
son ; they took upon themselves to protect the landing 
from the enemy and that very afternoon came in con- 
tact with Spaniards who, instead of contesting the 
landing of the troops as they might easily have done 
on account of the nature of the ground, withdrew, 
without striking a blow, toward Santiago. 

But old General Wheeler, who had command on land 
as long as General Shafter was with the ships, prided 
himself on dealing the first blow with his cavalry, 
though he had very few horses. He ordered General 
Young to advance early the next morning from the 
little village of Siboney toward Santiago and to attack 

[ 171 ] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the enemy wherever found. Eoosevelt started early 
in the afternoon for Siboney to join the other regi- 
ments of the brigade. About midnight the ' ' Rough 
Riders " reached their destination and went into 
camp for a few hours of restless sleep before they 
should receive the order to advance again. Their 
baggage had not yet come ashore and the soldiers had 
only what food they carried with them. The officers 
had none. Colonel Roosevelt's equipment consisted 
of a rain-coat and a tooth-brush. 

Two roads, from one to one and a half miles apart, 
lead from Siboney to Santiago. The eastern is the 
better road; the western is, in fact, no more than a 
pathway over the mountain and through dense woods. 
The valley between the two roads is covered with a 
heavy undergrowth. General Young advanced on the 
eastern road with the First and the Tenth Regiments 
and Wood and Roosevelt took the western (to the 
left) over the mountains. The two roads come 
together near the small village of Las Guasimas, and 
there the two commands were to unite. 

The first news to reach "Washington from the scene 
of war was of disaster. It was reported that Wood 
and Roosevelt, on account of recklessness and care- 
lessness, had fallen into an ambush, that Wood was 
dead and the regiment badly cut up. The news caused 
great excitement in Washington and a member of 
Congress moved that Roosevelt be court-martialled. 

Fortunately the rumor was false. It had origi- 

[H2] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

nated with one of the war reporters (eighty-nine of 
whom accompanied the army), who had met some 
wounded men from the regiment and drawn upon his 
imagination for the rest. In reality, the regiment had 
not fallen into an ambush nor was there any cause for 
the charge of carelessness or recklessness. That 
every precaution was taken is proved by the state- 
ment * of Richard Harding Davis, who followed the 
regiment as a correspondent: 

" As soon as the Rough Riders had reached the top of 
the ridge not twenty minutes after they had left camp, which 
was the first opportunity that presented itself, Colonel Wood 
took the precautions he was said to have neglected. He or- 
dered Captain Capron to proceed with his troop in front of 
the column as an advance guard, and to choose a ' point ' 
of five men skilled as scouts and trailers. Still in advance 
of these he placed two Cuban scouts. The column then con- 
tinued along the trail in single file. The Cubans were just 
at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards ; the ' point ' 
of five picked men under Sergeant Byrne and duty-Sergeant 
Fish followed them at a distance of a hundred yards, and then 
came Capron 's troop of sixty men strung out in single file: 
No flankers were placed for the reason that the dense under- 
growth and the tangle of vines that stretched from the 
branches of the trees to the bushes below made it a physical 
impossibility for man or beast to move forward except along 
the beaten trail. 

" Colonel Wood rode at the head of the column, followed 
by two regular army officers who were members of General 
W T heeler's staff, a Cuban officer, and Lieutenant-Colonel 



*From "The Cuban and Porto Rican Campaigns," by 
Richard Harding Davis. Copyright Charles Scribner's Sons. 

'[ 173 ] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Roosevelt. They rode slowly in consideration of the troopers 
on foot, who carried heavy burdens under a cruelly hot sun. 
To those who did not have to walk it was not unlike a hunting 
excursion in our West; the scenery was beautiful and the 
view down the valley one of luxuriant peace. Roosevelt had 
never been in the tropics and Captain McCormick and I were 
talking back at him over our shoulders and at each other, 
pointing out unfamiliar trees and birds. Roosevelt thought 
it looked like a good deer country, as it once was; it re- 
minded McCormick of southern California; it looked to me 
like the trail across Honduras. They advanced, talking in 
that fashion and in high spirits, and congratulating them- 
selves in being shut of the transport and on breathing fine 
mountain air again, and on the fact that they were on horse- 
back. They agreed it was impossible to appreciate that we 
were really at war — that we were in the enemy's country. 
"We had been riding in this pleasant fashion for an hour and 
a half with brief halts for rest, when Wood stopped the head 
of the column, and rode down the trail to meet Capron, who 
was coming back. Wood returned immediately, leading his 
horse, and said to Roosevelt: 
' ' ' Pass the word back to keep silence in the ranks. ' 
" The place at which we had halted was where the trail 
narrowed, and proceeded sharply downward. There was on 
one side of it a stout barbed-wire fence of five strands. By 
some fortunate accident this fence had been cut just where 
the head of the column halted. On the left of the trail it shut 
off fields of high grass blocked at every fifty yards with 
great barricades of undergrowth and tangled trees and chap- 
arral. On the other side of the trail there was not a foot 
of free ground; the bushes seemed absolutely impenetrable, 
as indeed they were later found to be. 

" When we halted the men sat down beside the trail and 
chewed the long blades of grass, or fanned the air with their 
hats. They had no knowledge of the situation such as their 
leaders possessed, and their only emotion was one of satis- 

[174] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

faction at the chance the halt gave them to rest and to shift 
their packs. Wood again walked down the trail with Capron 
and disappeared, and one of the officers informed us that 
scouts had seen the outposts of the enemy. It did not seem 
reasonable that the Spaniards, who had failed to attack 
us when we landed at Daiquiri, would oppose us until they 
could do so in force, so, personally, I doubted that there were 
any Spaniards nearer than Santiago. But we tied our horses 
to the wire fence, and Capron 's troop knelt with carbines at 
the ' ready,' peering into the bushes. "We must have waited 
there, while Wood reconnoitred, for over ten minutes. Then 
he returned, and began deploying his troops out at either side 
of the trail. Capron he sent on down the trail itself. G Troop 
was ordered to beat into the bushes on the right, and K and 
A were sent over the ridge on which we stood down into the 
hollow to connect with General Young's column on the op- 
posite side of the valley. F and E Troops were deployed out 
in skirmish-line on the other side of the wire fence. Wood 
had discovered the enemy a few hundred yards from where 
he expected to find him, and so far from being ' surprised,' 
he had time, as I have just described, to get five of his troops 
into position before a shot was fired. 

" The firing, when it came, started suddenly on our right. 
It sounded so close that — still believing we were acting on 
false alarm, and that there were no Spaniards ahead of us — ■ 
I guessed it was Capron 's men firing at random to disclose 
the enemy's position. I ran after G Troop under Captain 
Llewellyn, and found them breaking their way through the 
bushes in the direction from which the volleys came. It 
was like forcing the walls of a maze. If each trooper had not 
kept in touch with the man on either hand he would have 
been lost in the thicket. 

" At one moment the underbrush seemed swarming with 
troopers, and the next, except that you heard the twigs break- 
ing, and the heavy breathing of the men, or a crash as a vine 
pulled some one down, there was not a sign of a human be- 

[175] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ing anywhere. In a few minutes they all broke through into 
a little open place in front of a dark curtain of vines, and 
the men fell on one knee and began returning the fire that 
came from it." 

During the fight the majority of the companies 
spread out on the left in a long line. Here Roosevelt 
was in command, and he tried to outflank the enemy 
on their right. On the right of the road, Colonel 
Wood, who was in command, closed up the gap be- 
tween himself and the Tenth Regiment, under General 
Young. Young's troops advanced steadily in battle- 
line against the Spaniards, who had taken a well- 
covered position on a hill. 

Continuing, Mr. Davis says : * 

" It was for all of them, from the moment it started, 
through the hot, exhausting hour and a half that it lasted, a 
most serious proposition. The conditions were exceptional. 
The men had made a night march the evening before, had 
been given but three hours troubled sleep on the wet ground, 
and had then been marched in full equipment up hill and 
under a cruelly hot sun, right into action. Not one man in 
the regiment had ever fired a Krag-Jorgensen carbine until 
he fired it at a Spaniard, for their arms had been issued to 
them so soon before sailing that they had only drilled with 
them without using cartridges, and perhaps eighty per cent 
of them had never been under fire before. To this handicap 
was also added the nature of the ground and the fact that 
our men did not see their opponents. Their own men 
fell or rolled over on every side, shot down by an invisible 
enemy, with no one to retaliate upon in return, with no sign 



*From "The Cuban and Porto Rican Campaigns," by 
Richard Harding Davis. Copyright Charles Scribner's Sons. 

[ 176 ] 



PROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

that the attack might not go on indefinitely. Yet they never 
once took a step backward, but advanced grimly, cleaning a 
bush or thicket of its occupants before charging it, and secur- 
ing its cover for themselves, and answering each volley with 
one that sounded like an echo of the first. The men were 
panting for breath ; the sweat ran so readily into their eyes 
that they could not see the sights of their guns; then limbs 
unused to such exertion after seven days of cramped idle- 
ness on the troop-ship trembled with weakness and the sun 
blinded and dazzled them; but time after time they rose and 
staggered forward through the high grass, or beat their 
way with their carbines against the tangle of vines and 
creepers. A mile and a half of territory was gained foot by 
foot in this brave fashion, the three Spanish positions carried 
in that distance being marked by the thousands of Mauser 
cartridges that lay shining and glittering in the grass and 
behind the barricades of bushes. But this distance had not 
been gained without many losses, for every one in the regi- 
ment was engaged. Even those who, on account of the heat 
had dropped out along the trail, as soon as the sound of the 
fight reached them, came limping to the front — and plunged 
into the firing-line. It was the only place they could go — 
there was no other line." 

At last the left wing reached more open ground, and 
Colonel Roosevelt saw on the top of a wooded hill a 
decayed building, which the Spaniards held in force. 
It was apparently the key to the Spanish position in 
this part of the field — and later gave the name Guasi- 
mas to the battle. The order was forward and in 
short, quick jumps the line steadily approached the 
position. The difference in the manner in which the 
men from the East and those from the West advanced 
was noticeable. The men from the East jumped up at 

[177] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the order to advance, rushed straight forward with 
maddening haste and threw themselves breathless on 
the ground. Those, however, who had spent their 
lives in the West slipped along like Indians from tree 
to tree, from one protection to another, and finally lay 
down in the firing line without having exposed them- 
selves during the advance. 

When the column was within about 500 yards of 
the redoubt, Mr. Roosevelt heard the shout of the 
Americans on the right and, supposing that the final 
attack was on in that part, ordered the left wing to 
charge. The ' ' Rough Riders ' ' approached the works 
on the double-quick in spite of the lively fire which the 
Spaniards kept up at first. When they reached the 
Spanish position, they found only two dead men and 
a pile of empty shells. The enemy had withdrawn in 
good order with all his baggage with him in the direc- 
tion of Santiago. 

The attack was general along the whole line at the 
time that Guasimas was taken. The Spaniards offered 
no further resistance and the way lay open to San- 
tiago. As it became known later, General Linares 
had about four thousand men in the first attack; the 
Americans numbered not more than one thousand. 
Linares thought that the entire American army was 
in his front, because he could account for the fierce- 
ness of the assault in no other way. The Spaniards 
themselves testified that the "Rough Riders" 
advanced as if they wished to seize them with their 

[178] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

hands. They advanced, however, in single file with 
no support behind them to fall back on in case they 
met the enemy in too great numbers. When the last 
stronghold was taken, the regiment halted for rest, 
for no one thought of following the enemy on account 
of the exhausted condition of the troops. 

During the battle, Roosevelt heard that Colonel 
Wood was killed, and he immediately took command 
of the regiment. The report happily proved to be 
false ; but two days later General Young was stricken 
with fever and the command of the brigade devolved 
upon Wood, and Eoosevelt was left in command of 
the " Rough Riders." 

The government's insufficient preparation for 
the campaign soon became apparent. Though the 
army in the front had driven back the enemy and were 
ready to follow up the victory and to attack the Span- 
iards in their stronghold at Santiago, it could not do 
it, for, though men and provisions continued to be 
landed, supplies could not be got to the men in the 
field. The wounded and the sick could with difficulty 
be carried to the shore. Colonel Roosevelt felt that 
he must have provisions for his men, and he, there- 
fore, took the horses of the officers and the few mules 
that were at his disposal and sent them to the shore 
after supplies. 

The men succeeded in getting a large quantity of 
salt pork and hard-tack, but everything else was 
denied them, even coffee. Mr. Roosevelt led his regi- 

[179] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ment a few miles farther inland and pitched camp for 
several days. Only with the greatest difficulty and at 
his own expense did he succeed in getting a few vege- 
tables for his men. To add to the difficulty showers 
fell every afternoon with unceasing regularity. The 
soldiers had no change of clothing, and the clothing 
they did have was unsuited to a tropical climate. When 
the men got wet, they had to let their clothes dry on 
them or else sit naked while they were drying by a 
fire. The air reeked with miasma, and malaria soon 
broke out among the soldiers. 

During these trying days Roosevelt himself was the 
life of the regiment. He fared no better than they. 
He even gave his rain-coat to a soldier whom he 
thought needed it worse than he. The men on their 
part were loyal to him, almost worshipped him on 
account of his faithfulness to their interests. 

The camp of the ' ' Rough Riders ' ' was often vis- 
ited by the military attaches of foreign countries. 
Mr. Roosevelt was on friendly terms with First Lieu- 
tenant Count von Goetzen, later governor of German 
East Africa, who together with Major von Reuben 
Paschwitz was at the scene of war as representative 
of the German War Department. 

On June 30, the regiment received orders to break 
camp. One detachment after another passed them 
and finally the " Rough Riders " fell in behind. But 
the roads were full of soldiers and the advance was 
very slow. Night found them at El Poso Hill. 

[ 180 ] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The soldiers slept on their arms in the heart of a 
dense wood, where crabs abound from the size of a 
coffee cup to that of a large soup bowl. During the 
night the guards frequently fired at them thinking 
they were Spaniards as they slipped through the 
woods. Colonel Roosevelt inspected the guard him- 
self and then snatched a few hours ' sleep. 

About six o'clock the next morning, the artillery 
opened fire. The Spaniards were assembled in force 
on the chain of hills which lie between El Poso and 
Santiago. At the foot of San Juan Hill flows the little 
Juan River, which the Americans had to wade in the 
face of the enemy. The whole country was covered 
with a dense undergrowth so that it was impossible to 
advance rapidly. Besides the lay of the ground the 
Spaniards had the further advantage of settled 
intrenchments, protected in front by wire fences. 
They had also apparently fixed the distance before- 
hand so that they almost always aimed correctly. 
Their position was especially hard to determine 
because they used smokeless powder. 

The Spaniards had learned of the advance of the 
Americans by means of a chained balloon which went 
up in front of their lines. It offered a fine target and 
attracted the fire to such an extent that the detach- 
ments near it were showered with bullets. They were 
all glad when it was, at last, shot to pieces and taken 
down. 

It was planned that the infantry should bear the 

[181] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

brunt of the battle that day. After passing the ford, 
the detachments marched to the right, parallel to the 
river, to their position in the line of battle. The Ninth 
Infantry was on the extreme right and to its left 
the Sixth and Third. In the second line on the 
extreme right, behind the Ninth Infantry, the " Rough 
Riders " took their stand, partly covered by the slop- 
ing bank of the river from the Spanish bullets. To 
their left stood the First and Tenth Regiments of cav- 
alry. As the bullets continually fell into their ranks, 
their position was a dangerous one and Roosevelt 
wanted to advance. But the colonel of the Ninth 
Infantry was not present, and Roosevelt, therefore, 
asked that his men might pass through the ranks of 
the Ninth to the attack. When Colonel Roosevelt 
gave the order to charge and rode ahead of his men 
with sword in hand, the men of the Ninth Infantry 
could not longer be restrained and rushed ahead with 
the ' ' Rough Riders ' ' without waiting for the com- 
mand. Up they went, never halting, into the murder- 
ous fire of the Spaniards who were stationed on what 
was later called " Kettle Hill," on account of an 
immense kettle for boiling sugar which was found 
there. 

About the same time that Roosevelt advanced on 
the right, the Sixth and Third Regiments of infantry 
charged on the left. "When they reached the top of the 
hill, they were raked by a deadly fire from the Span- 
iards, who had retreated to a heavily intrenched hill 

[182] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

further ou. From his position on Kettle Hill, Colonel 
Roosevelt saw that the Americans on his left were 
hard pressed by the Spaniards; and, as the colonels 
of the other regiments on the right had either been 
killed or wounded, he took command himself and 
ordered a charge on San Juan block-house. Under a 
continuous fire, the line advanced nearer and nearer 
the enemy's stronghold; and finally, when the four 
machine guns which had been given the " Rough 
Riders " came into action, their noise increased the 
excitement to the highest pitch. Colonel Roosevelt, 
who was always in the front line, seized the critical 
moment and ordered a charge. 

But the noise was so terrific that the men did not 
hear him. When he had run one hundred yards in a 
perfect hail-storm of bullets, he found that he had 
only five men with him, one of whom just then fell 
mortally wounded, while another was shot through 
the leg. Without an expression of pain, he asked 
Roosevelt to put his canteen where he could reach it. 
He did so, and, leaving the three men where they were, 
he rushed back to the main line. He angrily up- 
braided them for not following him. They declared 
that they had not heard the command and asked him 
to give it again. 

When he gave the order the second time, over the 
wire fence they went like a storm-wind, " Rough 
Riders " and infantry, white and colored, in one 
mighty onrushing mass of men. The valley through 

[183] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

which they had to pass was somewhat wide and many 
gave out while running. The long-legged fellows out- 
distanced the shorter men in the race. But it did not 
matter, for the Spaniards did not wait for a hand-to- 
hand fight, but retreated as before. Only a few were 
found in the intrenchments and these were either cap- 
tured or shot down. The intrenchments were full of 
dead men whose light blue uniforms indicated that 
they belonged to the regular army of Spain. Almost 
all were shot through the head, as their bodies were 
protected by the breastworks. 

But the enemy had not given up the attack alto- 
gether; they had only withdrawn to their reserves 
and now began firing more fiercely than ever, from 
behind other intrenchments. But now for the first 
time since the battle began the Americans were pro- 
tected by fortifications. The soldiers were, exhausted 
from the fourteen hours of continual fighting and 
marching, and to renew the struggle was out of the 
question. Eoosevelt immediately set about to restore 
order in his ranks and to get the men into their proper 
regiments at least, for he still held command of the 
entire right wing. Though the Spanish bullets were 
still doing damage around him, he gave his orders 
with perfect coolness. Only once during the battle 
was he wounded and then only slightly in the hand. 
The soldiers who had seen him in the thickest of the 
fight became more convinced than ever that he was 
bullet-proof. 

[184] 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Once the Spaniards tried to win back the hill, but 
they were easily repulsed by the Americans from 
their sheltered position. The Americans dug ditches 
and prepared to pass the night in them. Two 
' ' Rough Eiders ' ' found a camp outfit belonging to 
Spanish officers, the provisions of which they gener- 
ously divided with the rest of the boys, in accordance 
with the custom in the regiment. Though the men 
were wet with perspiration at the close of the day 
and soon were chilled by the mist upon the mountain 
till their limbs were stiff, they immediately fell asleep 
on account of fatigue. They were aroused at three 
a.m. by the firing of the Spaniards, but, as the enemy 
did not advance to attack, the regiment was soon 
asleep again. 

Both parties maintained their positions till the fall 
of Santiago a few days later, July 17. Occasional 
shots were exchanged between the two armies from 
time to time, but, as Colonel Roosevelt had ordered 
the intrenchments in his front strengthened, his regi- 
ment suffered no further injuries. The regiment lost, 
killed and wounded, on the day of battle eighty-nine 
men out of four hundred and ninety engaged. At first 
Roosevelt experienced some difficulty in getting sup- 
plies for his men, but after the third day they became 
more regular. Besides, on account of some money 
which some friends in New York placed at his dis- 
posal, he was able to give his men many things which 
the Department of War did not furnish. 

[185] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

After the capitulation of Santiago, the ' ' Rough 
Riders ' ' were sent to the coast, where they pitched 
camp in the vicinity of El Caney. The Spaniards had 
surrendered, but another enemy began unceasing 
attacks: malaria fever broke out among the soldiers. 
The authorities at Washington were afraid that it 
was the yellow fever, of which there were in reality 
only twelve cases, while the malaria affected the whole 
army, and ordered the men to remain in Cuba till win- 
ter when all danger from the yellow plague would be 
over. Such a policy meant death to thousands of 
brave men. The army physicians and generals knew it 
and protested against it; but the War Department 
was firm. It ordered the camps to be changed 
from time to time as a precautionary measure, which 
would have been well enough if the men had been able 
to march. In many instances, the soldiers were not 
able to march a single mile, much less carry the neces- 
sary baggage for camp. 

This order was about as wise as some others that 
were issued from the " green table " in Washington 
during the campaign. For example, the soldiers were 
forbidden to sleep on the uncovered ground but they 
were given nothing to cover the ground with. They 
were also commanded to boil all the water they drank, 
in spite of the fact that they often had to drink when 
they had not the slightest opportunity to boil the 
water. Again they were forbidden to sleep in wet 
clothes, but they were furnished with but one suit, 

[ 180 ] 



FROM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

which was soaked every afternoon with unceasing 
regularity, and the men would have been compelled 
to sleep naked on the ground if they had carried out 
the order of the department. 

When General Shatter, who commanded the Amer- 
ican forces in Cuba, received the telegram from the 
War Department directing him to lead the army into 
the interior and to hold it there, he called a council 
of war at the palace in Santiago, July 31. All of the 
division and brigade commanders and many officers 
of the medical department were present. As Wood 
had been made commandant of the city of Santiago 
after the surrender, Eoosevelt took command of the 
brigade and rode on horseback to the council of war. 
The concensus of opinion was that the fate of thou- 
sands of men would be sealed if the order of the 
department was obeyed; but the officers hesitated to 
place a remonstrance before the secretary of war for 
fear that it might prove a handicap to them in their 
careers. Colonel Eoosevelt then offered to take the 
initiative. 

It was agreed that Roosevelt should write a letter 
to General Shatter in which he should explain the sit- 
uation of the army and that General Shatter should 
pass the letter on. When the generals met on the fol- 
lowing day to go over what Mr. Roosevelt had writ- 
ten, it was found that the other officers had, in the 
meantime, decided to send a joint-resolution to Gen- 
eral Shatter. The upshot of the matter was that both 

[187] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

letters were published, the joint-resolution and the 
private letter of Mr. Roosevelt. In spite of that, how- 
ever, there are people to-day who accuse Mr. Roose- 
velt of insubordination. Nothing could be further 
from the truth. Mr. Roosevelt, as well as every other 
man in the council, was actuated by the purest of mo- 
tives. They all knew that the lives of thousands of 
brave men who had bled for their country's cause 
would be sacrificed if the army was kept on foreign 
soil. On the contrary, Mr. Roosevelt deserves even 
greater praise for his energetic action at this time 
than for his bravery at Guasimas, Kettle Hill, and San 
Juan Hill. President McKinley did not consider him 
guilty of insubordination but promoted him to the 
rank of brigadier-general and awarded him a medal 
of honor. 

The letter, which created a sensation throughout 
the country and made him famous at once, is as fol- 
lows: 

" Major-General Shafter : 

" Sir: In meeting of the general and medical officers called 
by you at the Palace this morning we were all, as you know, 
unanimous in our views of what should be done with the army. 
To keep us here, in the opinion of every officer commanding a 
division or a brigade, will simply involve the destruction 
of thousands. There is no possible reason for not shipping 
practically the entire command north at once. 

" Yellow-fever cases are very few in the cavalry division, 
where I command one of the two brigades, and not one true 
case of yellow fever has occurred in this division, except 

[188 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

among the men sent to the hospital at Siboney, where they 
have, I believe, contracted it. 

" But in this division there have been 1,500 cases of 
malarial fever. Hardly a man has yet died from it, but the 
whole command is so weakened and shattered as to be ripe 
for dying like rotten sheep, when a real yellow-fever epi- 
demic instead of a fake epidemic, like the present one, strikes 
us, as it is bound to do if we stay here at the height of 
the sickness season, August and the beginning of September. 
Quarantine against malarial fever is much like quarantining 
against the toothache. 

" All of us are certain that as soon as the authorities at 
Washington fully appreciate the condition of the army, we 
shall be sent home. If we are kept here it will in all human 
possibility mean an appalling disaster, for the surgeons here 
estimate that over half the army, if kept here during the 
sickly season, will die. 

" This is not only terrible from the standpoint of the in- 
dividual lives lost, but it means ruin from the standpoint of 
military efficiency of the flower of the American army, for 
the great bulk of the regulars are here with you. The sick 
list, large though it is, exceeding four thousand, affords but 
a faint index of the debilitation of the army. Not twenty 
per cent are fit for active work. 

" Six weeks on the North Maine coast, for instance, or else- 
where, where the yellow-fever germ cannot possibly propa- 
gate, would make us all as fit as fighting cocks, as able as we 
are eager to take a leading part in the great campaign against 
Havana in the fall, even if we are not allowed to try Porto 
Rico. 

" We can be moved north, if moved at once, with absolute 
safety to the country, although, of course, it would have been 
infinitely better if we had been moved north or to Porto 
Rico two weeks ago. If there were any object in keeping 
us here, we would face yellow fever with as much indifference 
as we faced bullets. But there is no object. 

[189] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

" The four immune regiments ordered here are sufficient 
to garrison the city and surrounding towns, and there is 
absolutely nothing for us to do here, and there has not been 
since the city surrendered. It is impossible to move into 
the interior. Every shifting of camp doubles the sick rate 
in our present weakened condition, and, anyhow, the interior 
is rather worse than the coast, as I have found by actual 
reconnoissance. Our present camps are as healthy as any 
camps at this end of the island can be. 

" I write only because I cannot see our men, who have 
fought so bravely and who have endured extreme hardship 
and danger so uncomplainingly, go to destruction without 
striving so far as lies in me to avert a doom as fearful as 
it is unnecessary and undeserved. 

" Yours respectfully, 

" Theodore Roosevelt, 
" Colonel Commanding Second Cavalry Brigade." 

The resolutions of the generals were of the same 
tenor, and when both were sent to headquarters, they 
had the desired effect. Within three days, the army in 
Cuba received orders to hold themselves in readiness 
to return home ; and on August 6 the " Bough Eid- 
ers " embarked on the Miami for the return trip. 

The hardships of the journey, the poor provisions, 
the insect plague, were borne by the men with a light 
heart, for they thought that after a rest of a few 
weeks, they would enter the campaign against 
Havana. But when the regiment arrived at Mon- 
tauk, on the east shore of Long Island, they learned 
that peace preliminaries were already in progress. 

The men quickly regained their strength while in 
camp at Montauk, though very few of them were well 

[190] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

when they reached Long Island. Mr. Eoosevelt him- 
self was one of the number who were in good health, 
although he had lost twenty pounds during the cam- 
paign. The men did almost as they pleased as long 
as they did not disturb any one. Mr. Eoosevelt had 
his hands full, inasmuch as the regiment was soon to 
be discharged. Nevertheless he occasionally found 
time for a horseback ride or a swim. He often talked 
over with friends his experiences of the past few 
months. 

Among other friends that visited Mr. Eoosevelt 
while he was with his regiment at Montauk was Baron 
von Sternberg of the German embassy at Washing- 
ton. The " Little Baron," as he was called, spent a 
whole week in camp. Colonel Eoosevelt had asked at 
the beginning of the war for permission to take 
Baron von Sternberg with him in the campaign, but 
his request was not granted, so the two friends seized 
the opportunity to talk over together the things 
that they had not been permitted to share in common. 

When the day for disbanding the regiment drew 
nigh, Mr. Eoosevelt publicly addressed the regiment. 
He expressed his joy at being permitted to lead such 
a brave band of men, and at the same time, he ex- 
horted them that now, as they were going home, they 
must not rest upon their laurels but that they must 
take up again their accustomed work with the same 
zeal and determination that they had shown in the 
campaign. 

[1911 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

On the following day, he was called out of his tent 
to find the entire regiment lined np before him. One 
of the men stepped out of the circle and presented to 
Mr. Eoosevelt in the name of the regiment a bronze 
statue of Remington's " The Horse-Tamer," as an 
expression of good-will from the regiment that he had 
led through so many hardships and whose interests 
he had always so carefully guarded. After this all 
the men shook hands with him and thanked him indi- 
vidually for what he had done for them. 

When the regiment was disbanded, Mr. Roosevelt 
also took up again the affairs of private life. . But just 
as his men had become attached to him, he too entered 
heartily into the joys and sorrows of those who had 
endured so much with him while they were upon the 
soil of the enemy. 



[192] 



CHAPTER IX 

ROOSEVELT AS GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK AND VICE- 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

MR. ROOSEVELT was never a professional pol- 
itician. What he has accomplished in a politi- 
cal way is due to his phenomenal popularity and not 
to the tricks of the demagogue. Professionalism in 
politics has always been distasteful to him. He has 
made it a point to appeal to the good sense of good 
people, and he has never appealed in vain. His polit- 
ical adversaries and friends have often been made to 
wonder at his influence with the people, an influence 
which he secures by no indirect and secret means, but 
by open and above-board methods. Often those who 
were at heart opposed to him felt themselves com- 
pelled to fall in line with him on account of the pres- 
sure which the people brought to bear upon them. 

While Mr. Roosevelt was still with his regiment at 
Montauk, he was informed by his friends that they 
intended to nominate him for the governorship of 
New York. At first, he did not take favorably to the 
suggestion, and even told several of his friends that 
he preferred rather to remain with his regiment than 
to become governor of New York. The professional 

[193] 



PROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

politicians were even less inclined to see Mr. Roose- 
velt placed in such an important position; they were 
perfectly willing that he should remain with his regi- 
ment. But inasmuch as the Democratic candidate 
had a large following and the man proposed by the 
Republican bosses could not hope to carry more than 
his own party, the leaders were forced to accept Mr. 
Roosevelt as the nominee in order to save the party 
from defeat. 

Statesmen of the same type as Senator Piatt, who 
was then the leader of the Republican party in New 
York, would have rejoiced to see Mr. Roosevelt return 
to his farm on the Little Missouri ; they were entirely 
willing to run things in New York without him. They 
did not relish the idea of having the hero of Santiago, 
whom the people enthusiastically admired, present at 
the council-table of the party. They had not forgot- 
ten how, fifteen years before, though then a young 
man just out of college, he had broken traditions and 
thrown old customs to the wind in the General Assem- 
bly of New York; they remembered, too, that as a 
member of the Civil Service Commission he had struck 
hard and long at all sorts of political favoritism; 
and they held still fresh in mind that, as police presi- 
dent of New York City, he had completely ignored the 
leaders of the party and freed his department from 
all political control. They who regarded politics as a 
game at which they enriched themselves knew very 
well that, with Theodore Roosevelt in the guberna- 

[1941 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

torial chair at Albany, they could not ply their former 
trades. Nevertheless, they dared not openly oppose 
him for he was popular with the great masses of the 
people. The result was that Mr. Roosevelt was 
offered the nomination for governor and accepted it. 
The campaign opened up and speakers were sent into 
all parts of the State, but no enthusiasm was aroused. 
The people wished to see the Rough Rider in person. 
Finally, the managers of the campaign consented, 
somewhat against their will, to let Mr. Roosevelt 
take the platform. The situation was immediately 
changed. Old men said that they had never seen such 
interest manifested before in a gubernatorial race; 
the people flocked in great numbers to the places at 
which he. was to speak. Excitement almost reached 
the presidential heat. 

His appearance had something of the spectacular 
and picturesque in it, and appealed powerfully to the 
American people, though it would not have been to 
our liking. Four or five " Rough Riders ' ' in khaki uni- 
form accompanied him on his tour, and frequently 
made speeches in which they told how much they 
thought of their colonel and related reminiscences of 
the campaign which threw light upon the kindness, 
courage, and comradeship of Mr. Roosevelt. Though 
these things did not prove his fitness for the office of 
governor of the great State of New York, they did 
show him to have those traits of character which the 
American voter, deep down in his heart, admires. 

[195] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

When the votes were counted, it was found that Mr. 
Eoosevelt had carried the State by a majority of 
eighteen thousand. He was elected fairly, honestly. 
He had taken upon himself no obligations; he owed 
no party, no man, no set of men anything. He could 
enter upon the duties of his office bound only by the 
oath to enforce the laws of the commonwealth and to 
labor for the well-being of its people. 

Though Mr. Roosevelt could enter upon the duties 
of his office unhampered by campaign pledges or cam- 
paign contributions, he found difficulties enough 
awaiting him. The leaders of the Republican party 
were only nominally his friends ; they were in reality 
his enemies and tried to defeat all measures that were 
distasteful to them. But Mr. Roosevelt was not in 
the least daunted. Scarcely had he got settled in his 
office when he called the leaders of organized labor to 
see him. There were a number of laws on record, 
designed, in one way or another, to benefit the cause 
of labor. Some of them had not been passed with the 
idea of their being enforced and they were dead laws 
as far as effect was concerned; others had met with 
great opposition and had, therefore, been enforced 
only in a half-hearted way. 

When the labor leaders appeared before him, he 
said, ' ' The laws are for you. We shall examine them 
together to see whether they are good or not. If they 
are desirable laws, we shall see to it that they are 
strictly enforced; if they are not, we shall together 

[196 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

apply to the legislature for better ones. But what- 
ever the laws are, they must be enforced : we expect to 
have no dead laws." 

In this frank way, he gave the leaders of labor to 
understand that he was interested in their welfare, 
but that they must make their interests conform to 
the law, that under no circumstances would non-en- 
forcement of the law be winked at. In this, his first 
meeting with the leaders of organized labor, he con- 
vinced them that they had nothing to fear from him 
so long as they made themselves amenable to the 
law, and that he was as eager as they to have laws 
enacted that would be just to the man who earns his 
bread by the sweat of his brow. And their confidence 
once established was not shaken during his term of 
office. He was always in close touch with the working 
men and, though he made demands of them that others 
could not have secured, he found them ready in 
the end to accede to any reasonable request. They 
trusted him because they knew that he was their 
friend. 

The great masses of the people of the State rejoiced 
when Mr. Roosevelt made known his intention of hav- 
ing the railroads and other corporations pay a just 
proportion of the taxes. At once, his plan met with 
violent opposition from the friends of corporate 
wealth. They declared that it was only one of Roose- 
velt's impulsive notions, that it was neither desirable 
nor feasible. They attributed his error of judgment 

[197] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

to his youthful enthusiasm, having forgotten evi- 
dently that years before, while a humble member of 
the lower house of the General Assembly, he pro- 
tested against the custom of giving to corporations 
property for which private individuals would gladly 
pay a high price. 

When the party leaders saw that Mr. Roosevelt was 
deadly in earnest and that he was actually at work 
upon a draft of a bill which he was going to have 
placed before the legislature, they, urged on by bribes 
from the corporations, approached him upon the sub- 
ject. They informed him that he had had nothing of 
that kind in his platform. 

' ' ' More 's the pity, ' responded the governor ; ' it was a sad 
oversight, but I '11 try to make it good.' The corporations 
have always come down liberally when the campaign hat has 
been passed, argued the leaders. ' If you mean that they 
thought they were buying the Republican party,' responded 
the governor, ' it is high time we should undeceive them.' 
The corporations deserve just as much consideration as any 
one else at the hands of the State, argued the leaders. ' And 
conversely, are under just as great obligations to the State,' 
responded the governor; ' that 's why I 'm trying to even 
things up. ' There is great danger that when untrained legis- 
lators or assessors undertake a specialty like the valuation of 
franchises, they will blunder, argued the leaders. ' Then 
we '11 call in the experts to help us frame our bill or trim 
it into shape,' responded the governor; ' we '11 have hearings 
for the corporations, and they will be represented by the 
best talent their means can command. ' " * 



*From Leupp's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

[198] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The passage of such a measure would not have been 
easy at the beginning of the session; it was doubly 
difficult on account of the end of the session being so 
near at hand. The members of the legislature with 
whom Mr. Roosevelt talked about the bill seemed 
unwilling to assume the responsibility of putting it 
through. It became clear to the governor that some 
secret forces were at work to defeat his measure, and 
he, therefore, took refuge in the authority invested in 
him as chief executive of the State and declared the 
bill an emergency measure. 

" He wrote the message. It was pretty temperate in tone, 
but contained, as his messages usually do, a very plain state- 
ment of facts. It was intercepted and ' lost ' on its way to 
the Legislature. 

' ' The governor was not satisfied with the explanation of its 
disappearance, so he prepared a duplicate and sent it in 
at once. This time he took precautions to see that it got 
safely into the hands of the speaker of the assembly, with 
a warning that if it were not read from the speaker's desk, 
another copy would be read by a member on the floor. ' ' * 

And it was read and passed, too, before the legisla- 
ture adjourned. 

Before the law was passed by the legislature, Mr. 
Roosevelt had invited the companies that would be 
affected by the measure to meet him to talk over the 
bill. They did not accept the invitation till after the 



* From Leupp's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

[199] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

assembly had adjourned and the bill was ready for 
the governor's signature. They then informed him 
that they would be pleased to present their side of the 
case to him, if he would still hear them. 

' ' ' Certainly, ' was his cheerful answer, ' I '11 hear you with 
pleasure. Why did n 't you speak before ? ' 

" Of course, they didn't like the bill as it stood. ' Well,' 
said the governor, ' I don't know that I am entirely satis- 
fied with it myself, but it was the best we could do under 
the circumstances.' 

" ' Then you won't sign it ? You will postpone the whole 
business till next session and try again 1 ' pleaded the cor- 
porations. 

" ' One proposition at a time, gentlemen,' said the gov- 
ernor. ' I 'm willing to recommend any proper amendments 
at the next session, but meanwhile — well, you know the old 
proverb about the bird in the hand ? I 've tried all winter 
to get a bill ; now that I 've got one I don 't think I 'd better 
let it slip away from me. I '11 sign this bill, and then I '11 
sign any amendments passed next winter that commend 
themselves to my judgment.' 

" ' But next winter is some distance away,' the corpora- 
tions persisted. ' In the meantime the law will have gone 
into operation and irreparable damage been done. Let this 
bill drop, and call an extra session to pass one that will be 
fair all around. We '11 help you.' 

" ' If you really mean that,' said the governor, ' I will 
split the difference with you. I will sign this bill: that se- 
cures us something, in any event. Then I '11 convene an ex- 
tra session, and we can work together for such modifications 
as would be just and right.' 

" Seeing that he was not to be cajoled, the pleaders withdrew. 
He was as good as his word. The extra session met, some 
changes were made in the act, but not so radical as the cor- 

[200] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

porations wished. ' We '11 fight your law in the courts,' 
they thundered. ' By all means,' he answered imperturba- 
bly ; ' then we '11 find out which side is right, and the next 
legislation we put through will avoid any mistakes the courts 
discover in this.' " * 

The corporations were disappointed, however, for 
they could find no vulnerable place in the law; they 
had to obey it. The corporations, which heretofore in 
one way or another had escaped taxation and had 
come to regard themselves as rightly exempt from the 
burdens of state, were now forced to pay thousands of 
dollars into the treasury of the commonwealth. The 
bulk of the taxes was shifted from the shoulders of cit- 
izens of moderate means and placed upon corporations, 
that had grown rich through State protection but had 
not paid for the services rendered. 

The benefits from the law were reaped not only by 
the State of New York but by other States as well. 
When the Supreme Court declared the law constitu- 
tional, a precedent was set which was quickly followed 
by other States of the Union, and the burdens of state 
were placed where they belonged : upon those best able 
to bear them. The law worked no real hardship upon 
corporate wealth ; it merely forced it to bear a just pro- 
portion of the State expenses. It did not exempt the 
poor from taxation; it only distributed equably the 
taxes among all the people, rich and poor, according to 
ability to pay. Thus again Mr. Roosevelt struck a 



* From Leupp's " The Man Roosevelt." Copyright, 1904, 
D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

[201] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

blow for higher civic righteousness, for justice between 
man and man. 

The opposition which Mr. Eoosevelt met from the 
leaders of his party in the passage and enforcement of 
the law taxing corporations was extended to every ad- 
ministrative measure of his. During his two years as 
governor, he lived in a state of war, open or secret, with 
the leaders of his party. His utter disregard of politi- 
cal traditions, his stubborn insistence upon justice and 
fairness in the administration of public affairs were 
distasteful to the old-line politicians and they hindered 
him in every way they could. But he was not at all 
discouraged by the opposition ; he rather enjoyed the 
fight and went ahead with his reforms wherever he 
thought conditions could be bettered. 

In so doing, however, he remained strictly within the 
limits of his lawful powers. For instance, he did not 
think for a moment of interfering with the government 
of New York City, though he had to look on while the 
old abuses which he had rooted out of the police depart- 
ment grew up again to the disgrace of the city and the 
State. The Tammany ring was in control of the 
city again and machine politics ruled in munici- 
pal affairs. He contented himself with putting into 
other offices of trust the men who had been unjustly 
discharged from the police service on account of their 
political views. Though he was repeatedly urged by 
his friends to make an end of the terrible practices, he 
studiously kept his hands off, for he knew that the law 

[802] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

gave him no right to interfere and he was well aware 
that interference on his part without the power to 
enforce his demands would be not only ignored but 
laughed to scorn. He was too wise to attempt what 
was manifestly impossible to carry to a successful 
issue. 

But he by no means condoned the evils. He had a 
bill introduced, giving the mayor the right to appoint 
the police commissioner but investing the governor 
with the power to depose him as soon as he mixed poli- 
tics with his administrative duties. The motion was 
lost, however. Senator Piatt, who had promised Mr. 
Roosevelt that he would support the measure, suddenly 
left for Florida at the critical moment, ostensibly to 
recover his health. The bill thus lost the support of 
one who could have secured its passage had he felt 
disposed to do it. 

It often happened that measures which Mr. Roose- 
velt deemed of vital importance to the commonwealth 
were defeated, but, nevertheless, he was not dismayed 
nor disheartened in the least. He hoped to present 
the measures to the legislature at a more opportune 
time. Because he had left much work that he knew 
ought to be done and believed that he could do, he 
wished to be elected governor again. He felt that his 
work in the State of New York was not finished and he, 
therefore, obj-ected to being shifted from the can- 
didacy for governor of the Empire State to the vice- 
presidency of the United States. 

[203] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Though he had not accomplished all that he wished, 
he had done much in the interest of better government. 
Not the least of his acts was the cleaning up of the 
department of canal and ship-building. He dismissed 
the commissioner and appointed a competent engineer 
in his place. The State militia also received his atten- 
tion. The general in command had distinguished him- 
self by his inefficiency during the Cuban campaign ; and 
he was, therefore, replaced by a man who was capable 
of doing the work assigned him. In the short space of 
two years, he instituted, as far as possible, the merit 
system and appointed men to State positions who were 
qualified for the positions for which they were chosen. 

When Mr. Eoosevelt entered upon the duties of his 
office, there was a law on the statute books regulating 
sweat-shops, but the law had always been carelessly 
enforced. It provided that work could be done in the 
homes only when the conditions surrounding the work- 
ers were sanitary: that only one family was living 
there, that no contagious disease existed in the family, 
that the work-room itself should contain no bed, and 
that no person not a member of the family should work 
therein. The inspectors declared that they had enough 
to do to keep a record of the people amenable to the 
law without giving attention to matters of details. 
There were tenements in which every family was en- 
gaged in the sweat-shop business, and it was impossi- 
ble to supervise them all. 

But Mr. Eoosevelt was of a different opinion. The 

[204] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

law Vv as a good one, thoroughly useful and, therefore, 
ought * ? be enforced. He himself set an example for 
the inspectors. On one of the hottest days of the sum- 
mer, he visited, together with a friend, twenty of the 
worst tenement houses in Albany. He saw everything 
from attic to basement : nothing escaped him, not even 
the oxygen-starved faces of the inmates. As a rule, 
he found only the women and smaller children at home ; 
the men and larger children were at work or on the 
street. 

Many things were found that would not meet the 
requirements of the law. The rooms were dirty. 
Often two or three families occupied the same rooms. 
In many places piece-work was being done without offi- 
cial permission. The floor space seldom came up to 
demands of the law. Germs of diphtheria, scarlet 
fever, and consumption were being worked into the 
coats and trousers that would later be offered to unsus- 
pecting customers at fashionable stores. 

The governor had to admit that conditions were not 
as bad as they once were, but he insisted that they were 
not as good as they should be. Old, ill-repaired, 
unsanitary houses should not be used for sweat-shops 
at all, and owners of such property should be informed 
that permission would not be granted them till the 
house was put in a sanitary condition. In order to 
prevent unscrupulous landlords from overcharging 
the tenants, he secured the passage of a bill that placed 
all tenement houses under control of the inspectors 

[205] 



FEOM BOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

whose duty it became to inquire into the price de- 
manded of the renters and to forbid exorbitant rates. 
He justified his course by an appeal " to the general 
desire for a clean, decent life and for right and fair 
treatment between man and man. ' ' 

When Mr. Eoosevelt became governor of New York, 
he found the office of treasurer in the hands of Louis 
Payn, a close friend of Senator Piatt. He had grown 
gray in the service of the spoils system and had 
acquired, through years of association with Piatt and 
his clique, a reputation that was not at all savory. Mr. 
Roosevelt deemed it advisable, under the circum- 
stances, to get rid of him as soon as possible. But 
Payn had suddenly experienced a change of heart ; he 
wished to remain in office to redeem his tarnished rep- 
utation by worthy service under Mr. Roosevelt. But 
Mr. Roosevelt put no reliance on the man, and turned 
a deaf ear to his overtures. Payn then appealed to 
his friends who stormed the governor with protests 
against removing so old and faithful an officer from his 
position. Piatt himself called upon the governor, and 
remarked in the course of the conversation that it 
would be a mistake to drop Payn. 

" That is not the question at all," replied the gov- 
ernor. " I should like to know whom I should put in 
his place. ' ' 

Piatt saw that nothing was to be gained by provok- 
ing him further, and they both went over a list of men 
that Roosevelt proposed for the position. To every 

[206] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

one of them Piatt found some objection and those 
that Piatt proposed the governor would not consider 
at all. Finally Mr. Roosevelt found a way out of the 
difficulty by appointing a former State senator and a 
friend of Mr. Piatt; but the man refused to accept, 
much to the surprise of the governor. 

Mr. Roosevelt was beaten and Mr. Payn became 
arrogant. He even boasted that he would hold the 
office in spite of Roosevelt. But Mr. Roosevelt was 
not discouraged ; he had decided to wait until the legis- 
lature should adjourn and then bring an indictment 
against Mr. Payn. 

Some one surmised the purposes of the governor, 
and there was soon a sensation in New York. The 
friends of Payn tried to get into the secret of the gov- 
ernor, but the more they tried to find out what he was 
going to do the more silent Mr. Roosevelt became. The 
whole Republican party in the State were excited ; they 
felt that something was going to happen, but they knew 
not what. They only knew that there were some things 
that it would be better to keep from the light of public- 
ity. Piatt became anxious and sent a friend to Mr. 
Roosevelt to find out what he was intending to do. 
The ultimatum was given: Payn must go, quietly if 
he would, forcibly if he must. The governor also let it 
be known that he had evidence that would implicate 
other people. He said that he had in his hands the 
correspondence which showed that Payn had received 
large sums of money to further the interests of trusts. 

[207] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Piatt had heard enough; he did not go to Florida 
this time. He immediately informed Payn that he 
would have to give up his office, that the party could 
not hold him any longer. The leaders then went to 
Mr. Roosevelt and asked for his list of candidates. He 
handed over the list at once, at the head of which was 
the ex-State senator who had repeatedly refused to 
accept. Piatt and his friends declared the selection a 
good one. When Mr. Roosevelt informed them that 
the man had several times refused the position, they 
said that they would vouch for it that he could be 
induced to take it. And they departed glad to have got 
off so easily. 

Though there were frequent quarrels between Mr. 
Roosevelt and the leaders of his party, his popularity 
with the people steadily grew. They realized that at 
last there was a man at the head of the State who made 
it his duty to see to it that every citizen received what 
was rightfully his ; they rejoiced that they had a gov- 
ernor who was above petty politics and who dared 
bring the political aristocrats to justice, a governor 
who looked well to the interest of the humblest citizen 
and enforced the laws without the least degree of 
favor. 

His popularity has nowhere been more clearly shown 
than during the celebration in honor of the return of 
Admiral Dewey in the year 1899. New York City was 
the Mecca of all hero-worshippers. The admiral 
might well feel proud of the enthusiastic reception 

[208] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

accorded him. And yet it was apparent that the 
shouting of the multitude became more intense when 
Mr. Eoosevelt, in a simple dress-suit, became visible 
in the parade among all the sinning uniforms and wav- 
ing plumes. The hero of San Juan on his brown 
charger seemed to hold a higher place in the hearts of 
the people than the great admiral. The same specta- 
cle was repeated a few days later when the victorious 
fleet sailed around the New York harbor. Every- 
where the ships in the harbor saluted and the cannons 
of the forts thundered forth applause and thousands of 
people cheered as the battleships filed by. But when 
the small river steamer appeared in the line of war- 
ships with Mr. Roosevelt leaning on the railing, such 
a spontaneous cry for Roosevelt rose from a thousand 
lips that the hero felt compelled to go below in 
order not to distract attention from Admiral Dewey, 
who stood in plain view on the commander's bridge of 
the Olympia. 

Mr. Roosevelt's two years' service as governor of 
the great Empire State was not without result. He 
left an inheritance to the State which can not be too 
highly prized. The question that he always asked him- 
self in regard to any line of conduct was " Is it right? " 
When he was gone, a State official who had long been 
in the service remarked upon the lasting influence of 
Mr. Roosevelt in the following language: "Last win- 
ter when a measure was up for discussion in the legis- 
lature, I heard for the first time the question, < Is it 

[209] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

right? ' Not ' Is it advisable? ' Not ' What will be 
the advantage to me and to my party 1 ' but only ' Is it 
right? ' This is Eoosevelt's legacy to Albany and the 
State, and it is well worth his coming and going. ' ' 

Mr. Roosevelt would have liked to continue his work 
as governor, for he knew that he had left behind him 
many things that needed to be done, but fate had still 
greater things in store for him. Curiously enough, both 
his friends and his enemies worked together to the same 
end. His friends wished him to be a candidate for the 
vice-presidency because they thought that his popular- 
ity would assure the election of the Republican nominee 
for the presidency. His enemies hoped to see him 
made vice-president in order to get rid of him in New 
York politics ; they hoped to punish him for the former 
victories over them by putting him in a dignified cold- 
storage for four years. After long hesitation, he 
agreed to be placed upon the altar of sacrifice in the 
interest of the great national party to which he 
belonged. 

The office of vice-president of the United States is a 
very undesirable one. The vice-president has nothing 
to do but preside over the Senate unless the president 
dies or is removed from office. As the men who are 
elected president are usually in their prime, there is 
small chance of the vice-president's ever becoming 
president. In spite of the fact that the president's 
office is sometimes made vacant by death, which has 
happened five times in the brief years of the United 

[210] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

States, the custom has grown up of electing men as 
vice-president whom they wish to honor for some 
services to the party but whom they would be unwilling 
to elect as president or whom they wish to put out of 
the way of some one else who has presidential ambi- 
tions. Mr. Roosevelt's enemies wanted him elected as 
vice-president in order to get rid of him in the State of 
New York and thus prevent him from getting into 
more important offices. His high ideals of the duty of 
a public servant stood in the way of the political ambi- 
tions of some other men of his party ; and they were 
glad, therefore, to confer upon him the empty honor 
of vice-president. 

But so far he had received merely the nomination 
of his party. The election of the president and vice- 
president was yet to take place. The Republican 
National Convention was held in June and the great 
campaign began almost immediately. "William Jen- 
nings Bryan, the Democratic nominee, took the field as 
he had done four years before, and Colonel Roose- 
velt was put upon the platform by the Republican 
party, while President McKinley remained quietly in 
Washington. 

• ••• •••• 

It is scarcely conceivable to an European what this 
campaign meant in physical and mental strain upon 
Mr. Roosevelt. For eight weeks he made his home in 
a special car and travelled during that time about 
twenty-two thousand miles through almost every State 

[211] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

of the Union. He made speeches in the majority of 
the large cities of the land and in countless smaller 
ones. He visited more than two hundred in the State 
of New York alone. But the cities visited represented 
only a small part of the work done. At every division 
crowds assembled to hear a few words from him from 
the rear end of his car while engines were being 
changed or at a wayside watering tank while the engine 
took on water. According to newspaper reports, the 
total number of speeches made during the eight weeks 
was six hundred and seventy-three, or an average of 
fourteen per day not counting Sundays. It is esti- 
mated that three and a half million people heard and 
saw him during that time. 

Chance brought about a meeting between Roosevelt 
and Bryan at a station where the former's engine had 
to take water. 

1 ' Hello, Billy ! ' ' shouted Roosevelt with a merry 
twinkle in his eyes. 

1 i Hello, Teddy ! ' ' came back from Bryan. ' ' By the 
way, Teddy," continued Bryan, " how about your voice 
after these many speeches ? ' ' 

" Oh, my voice is as rough as the platform of the 
Democrats, ' ' replied Roosevelt smiling. 

" Mine," retorted Bryan, " is as broken as the prom- 
ises of the Republicans." 

Everybody laughed. Soon the whistle blew and the 
two rivals separated, waving each other a friendly 
adieu as their trains drew apart. 

[212] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Mr. Roosevelt is not what one would call an orator. 
He speaks plainly without any rhetorical flourishes; 
his speech is somewhat broken and his voice not espe- 
cially pleasing. In this respect, he was at a disadvan- 
tage when pitted against Mr. Bryan who has the style 
and the voice of an orator and a personal magnetism 
that draws men to him. But in spite of the fact that 
Mr. Bryan seemed to be endowed better by nature to 
win before the people, Mr. Roosevelt was fully his 
equal when put face to face with the great common 
people of America. He lacked Bryan's oratorical pol- 
ish, it is true, but people were just as eager to hear 
him. He held them by what he had to say, not by how 
he said it. Besides, Mr. Roosevelt understands as few 
men do how to speak to the hearts of men. His words 
are always accompanied by expressive, though not 
graceful, gestures which make him, upon the platform, 
an altogether picturesque and attractive personality — 
especially to the masses who like an earnest appeal to 
what is best within them. 

To his strenuous activity, success was not denied. 
William McKinley was reelected president and Theo- 
dore Roosevelt was chosen as vice-president. Thus 
there was conferred upon him the second highest 
honor in the gift of the American people. 

With the same zeal that he had put into every public 
trust that had been given him, he devoted himself to 
the new duties that were placed upon him. During 
one session of Congress, he presided over the delibera- 

[213] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

tions of the Senate. When Congress adjourned, he 
joyfully welcomed the opportunity of a rest, the first 
that had been given him since he entered public life the 
last time. In spite of the cold weather, he spent two 
weeks hunting the bobcat and cougar, which he has 
described in the first chapter of his ' ' Outdoor Pastimes 
of an American Hunter. ' ' 

But the rest was not to be of long duration. At Buf- 
falo, the Wonder City, near Niagara Falls, a Pan; 
American Exposition was being held. The visit of 
President McKinley at the exposition had been widely 
announced for September 6, and thousands of people 
assembled in the Temple of Music on that day to get 
sight of the chief executive of the land. After the 
concert, the president stationed himself in the centre 
of the great hall in order that he might shake hands 
with all who might care to greet him personally. In a 
long line, men, women, and children filed by to grasp 
the hand of the president, and then took their positions 
on the outside to wait till the president should leave 
the place. But alas! they were to be disappointed 
sadly, for the beloved McKinley was not to go out of 
the Temple of Music as he came in. 

In that crowd of sympathetic friends and patriotic 
admirers was a man who, unable to appreciate the 
spirit of American institutions and the lofty ideals of 
the man who guided the nation, had murder in his heart 
toward the noble president. That man, well dressed 
and bearing lightly his twenty-four years, was Leon 

[2141 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Czolgosz. He had taken his place in the line with the 
other people and slowly approached the place where 
the president stood. He supported his right arm in a 
sling and held the hand under his coat. The guards, 
thinking that he had an injured arm, permitted him to 
pass. He reached out his left hand to the president 
who grasped it warmly, and the same instant with his 
right hand he sent two bullets from the revolver, which 
he had concealed under his coat, into the body of Pres- 
ident McKinley, as he was bowing to him a most sym- 
pathetic greeting. 

For a few seconds, a death-like silence reigned. 
Then " May God forgive him! " came from the lips of 
the stricken man as his friends rushed to his side. The 
president was quickly placed in an arm-chair, while the 
guards seized Czolgosz, who offered no resistance, and 
dragged him from the hall. 

It was found that the first bullet had produced only 
a slight flesh wound, but the second one had entered 
the stomach. An operation was performed at once, 
and it was hoped that the patient would speedily re- 
cover. Mr. Eoosevelt, who was near Burlington, Ver- 
mont, when the news reached him, hastened at once to 
the bedside of his chief. Nor did he leave till the phy- 
sicians assured him that he need have no further fears, 
for the president would recover. 

He then returned to his own family who were in the 
Adirondacks for the health of one of his children. Spe- 
cial despatch service kept Mr. Eoosevelt informed of 

[215] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

the condition of President McKinley. Finally after 
the bulletins became more and more hopeful for several 
days, he breathed more freely, and decided to make a 
trip into the mountains. 

Mr. Roosevelt has been variously criticised for his 
actions during the time between the shooting of Presi- 
dent McKinley and his death, by a class of men who 
are fond of attributing unworthy motives to others. 
Some condemned him for rushing to the bedside of 
President McKinley, declaring that he could not wait 
till McKinley was no more to seize the reins of power ; 
others blamed him because he went on a hunting trip 
while the president 's life hung in the balance. Neither 
criticism is worthy of a refutation. Few people at the 
time, and certainly no sane man would to-day lay up 
such a charge against him. 

On Friday, September 13, Mr. Roosevelt with a small 
company ascended Mount Marcy. When they reached 
the top, it was raining and nothing could be seen of the 
splendid view they had hoped for. They, therefore, 
went down to the border of the woods and spread their 
luncheon, for they were all tired and hungry. Their 
conversation was suddenly interrupted by approaching 
foot-steps upon the stony road, a strange sound in 
those deserted regions. A man came out of the woods, 
stepped forward and handed Mr. Roosevelt a letter. 
He broke the seal at once, and read, " The condition of 
the president has changed for the worse. Cortelyou. ' » 
Mr. Roosevelt read and reread the despatch and sat 

[216 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

down for a moment ; but he soon arose without having 
touched his lunch, and said, " I must return immedi- 
ately." 

Silently, sorrowfully the little company walked back 
to the cabin where they were stopping at the time ; but 
he found no further news there, though his private sec- 
retary, Mr. Loeb, had been informed in the morning 
from Buffalo of the change for the worse and had has- 
tened on a fast train to the mountains to find his chief. 
But the railroad carried him only to North Creek, more 
than thirty miles from Mount Marcy. All day he had 
sent telegram after telegram to Mr. Eoosevelt to come, 
that he would wait for him. The telephone line ended 
at the club-house at the foot of the mountain, and no 
one thought of taking the message to Mr. Roosevelt. 

From the cabin, Mr. Eoosevelt sent runners to the 
club-house and ordered everything ready for immedi- 
ate departure, before he changed his wet garments for 
dry ones. Walking to and fro before the cabin, he 
waited anxiously for the return of his messengers. 
About midnight, they arrived with Loeb's despatch, 
" Come at once." He jumped into a carriage and 
drove out into the night. It was a mad race with death 
— and death won, for before half the journey had been 
covered, President McKinley had closed his eyes in 
eternal sleep. The carriage rolled on over the rocky, 
mountain paths as if driven by furies. When the 
driver, fearing that they might dash into an abyss on 
account of the terrific speed at which they were going, 

[217] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

turned to the silent man behind him wrapped in his 
overcoat, with a questioning look, he received only the 
brief words, " Go on — go on! " 

A few minutes after one o 'clock they arrived at the 
club-house. Loeb, who was still at the other end of 
the telephone line at North Creek, informed him that 
the end was nearing in Buffalo. Mr. Loeb knew the 
dangers of a drive through the mountains after night, 
and urged Mr. Roosevelt to remain at the club-house till 
morning, but he received only the short, quick answer, 
' 1 1 am coming. ' ' 

The journey from the club-house to the railroad sta- 
tion at North Creek was a hard one. At one moment 
the carriage sank into mud to the hubs and at the next 
bounded from side to side as the horses beat fire from 
the mountain flints. At a lonely inn, there were fresh 
horses in waiting and onward they went over moun- 
tains and through woods. The morning had just begun 
to break when the almost exhausted horses dashed up 
to the station at North Creek, where a train was stand- 
ing ready on the track. Mr. Loeb met Mr. Roosevelt 
as he stepped from the carriage and informed him that 
the president was dead — which was only another way 
of telling him that upon his shoulders had fallen the 
mantle of the beloved and stalwart William McKinley. 



[218] 



CHAPTER X 

mr. Roosevelt's political philosophy 

ON SEPTEMBER 14, at 1 :30 p.m. Mr. Roosevelt 
arrived at Buffalo. Twenty mounted policemen 
and a squadron of the Fourth Field-Telegraph detach- 
ment were lined up in front and rear of the carriage 
that he was to take. They escorted him at a brisk trot 
to the house where the body of President McKinley 
was lying. When he left the carriage, he ordered the 
officer in command to dismiss the soldiers. He then 
went up into the room of death to take a last look at 
his murdered friend. He remained only a few min- 
utes. He wished above all to say a few words of sym- 
pathy to the stricken wife who, for thirty years, had 
lovingly and tenderly shared every joy and sorrow 
with her husband. He, therefore, again turned to his 
carriage to drive to her hotel. He noticed that the sol- 
diers were still with the carriage. In a low but firm 
voice, he ordered the officer to take them away, for he 
did not want a military guard. Only two detectives 
were allowed to accompany him. 

The same afternoon he took the oath of office in the 
home of Mr. Wilcox. It was a touching scene. Secre- 
tary Root of the Department of War, who had been a 

[219] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

witness to a similar scene twenty years before when 
Chester A. Arthur took the oath of office after the 
death of President Garfield, could scarcely control his 
voice as he asked Mr. Roosevelt in the name of the 
members of the cabinet to repeat the oath after Judge 
Hasel of the United States District Court. Pale, trem- 
bling, with tears in his eyes, Mr. Roosevelt arose, raised 
his hand and took the oath prescribed by law. Then he 
let his hand fall and stood there for a moment with 
bowed head, till Judge Hazel asked him to sign the 
document. With a firm hand, he wrote his name and 
then said slowly, solemnly : 

' * In this hour of terrible grief, I wish to make it 
known that it shall be my purpose to continue stead- 
fastly in the policies of President McKinley for the 
happiness and honor of our beloved country. " 

In this way, he honored the memory of his illustri- 
ous predecessor. But his first official act was still 
more gratifying to the country, for it showed that his 
declaration to continue the policies of President Mc- 
Kinley was to be faithfully adhered to. He turned to 
the members of McKinley 's cabinet who were present 
and said to them that he hoped that no member of the 
cabinet would feel under obligation to present his res- 
ignation, for he wished each one to retain his position 
and to help him carry out the policies of their lamented 
friend. 

Thus, at the beginning of his presidential term, "he 
broke with the custom that sanctioned the change of the 

I 220 l 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

cabinet with the in-coming of every president. Even 
Mr. McKinley had not hesitated to select an entirely 
new cabinet when he became president. Mr. Roose- 
velt acted, however, in accordance with the principle 
which he had always advocated, namely that public offi- 
cials should not be dismissed so long as they did faith- 
fully and efficiently the work that was required of them. 
Mr. McKinley, always a conservative statesman, had 
won the confidence of the country in a high degree. 
That he had fallen a victim to the bullet of an anarchist 
was not because the assassin had anything against him 
personally — he confessed that he had never seen him 
before — but because the murderer himself was an un- 
fortunate victim of that insane delusion that leads men 
to despise all government and to seek the death of all 
rulers. The funeral given him showed how deep was 
the love of the people for their martyred dead. When 
the body of McKinley was laid to rest in his old home 
at Canton, Ohio, the near-by fort fired the presidential 
salute. At the minute that the burial was to take 
place, business stopped throughout the land. The f ac- 
torv wheels ceased their hum ; the railroad trains stood 
still on the track; the boats in the harbors and upon 
the rivers with flags at half-mast were motionless ; for 
five minutes, business life was not, and men reverently 
thought of what was taking place in far-off Ohio. 
Then business began again: the factory wheels re- 
newed their hum ; the trains moved on as before ; the 
boats continued their journey. William McKinley be- 

[221] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

longed to the past; and Theodore Roosevelt was the 
man of the present and the man of the future. The 
nation, the world, looked to him. 

At the age of forty-one, he took the reins of govern- 
ment in his hands, the youngest president who had ever 
sat in the chair of Washington and Lincoln. Many a 
man looked with anxiety into the future. It is true 
that Mr. Roosevelt had grown up under the eyes of the 
people, and they should have known him better. s But 
the events of the last few years had blinded them some- 
what to his real nature. They thought of him only as 
an impetuous hero of war, who broke down with an 
iron hand every barrier that stood in his way. They 
forgot that, in reality, he had devoted only three 
months to the profession of arms and that he had given 
twenty of the best years of his life to making himself 
acquainted with the administrative details of the State 
and Nation. Fear filled the breast of many a patriotic 
citizen. He saw that the new president was quick, 
impulsive; he did not see that, though he made his 
decisions quickly, Mr. Roosevelt's decisions were dic- 
tated by reason, not by shallow emotion. Many a 
statesman feared that the young president would in- 
volve the country in a foreign war. 

To-day at the approaching close of his second term* 



* The reader will bear in mind that this book was written 
before the end of Mr. Eoosevelt's second term as President, 
and it has not been thought desirable to change these ref- 
erences. — Translator. 

[222] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

of office, his people have learned to trust him; they 
know that he is not a man of war, but a man of peace, 
honorable peace; they know that he has been and is 
the mightiest factor for peace in the world to-day. His 
country loves him; the world admires and honors him. 

Mr. Roosevelt was the first author of note to become 
president in the history of the American republic. As 
an historian, he had learned from the past ; as a practi- 
cal statesman, he had watched the government machin- 
ery in operation; and as a close observer of human 
nature, he had come in contact with all classes of men 
and knew the conditions under which the people live 
and by what motives they are actuated. He entered 
office with rather definitely formed opinions not only of 
his duty to the country but of what the country needed, 
and the best method of attaining those ends. He had 
a political philosophy of his own that can be traced 
back, practically unchanged, to the time of his first 
appearance in public life. And as an understanding 
of that philosophy throws light both upon his presi- 
dential career and his character, we shall examine it 
as found in his books and public addresses of years 
past. 

The American citizen who enjoys a high degree of 
personal freedom has shown, on the whole, that he 
knows how to use that freedom ; but, just as in all other 
countries where all classes must mingle together and 
where every one has an opportunity to develop freely 
the good and the bad side of his character, there are 

[223] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

those who exert an unfavorable influence upon the 
Nation. The more intelligent and upright statesmen 
have always been compelled to fight against these 
baser classes in the State and Nation who are lending 
their weight to subvert the higher ideals that are right- 
fully recognized as characteristic of the American peo- 
ple. Conspicuous among those who have always stood 
four square against everything that tends to lower the 
standard of American ideals and character has been 
Theodore Roosevelt, whose intense love for his country 
and firm conviction of the world-responsibility resting 
upon her have made him feel keenly any remissness in 
her people. But he spent no time in vain regrets; 
instead he set before his fellow citizens the heroic deeds 
of their forefathers and urged them to emulate their 
example. Nor did he stop with preaching positive 
ideals of good citizenship, but like Chaucer's poor 
parson, 

" He taught, but first he folwed it himselve." 
No statesman has had more to say than Mr. Roose- 
velt of the domestic life of the people. Realizing that 
the greatness of a nation depends upon the intelligence 
and integrity of the citizens composing it, Mr. Roose- 
velt has always emphasized the importance of a correct 
family life. The boy's home environment should be 
such as to stimulate all the natural instincts that 
are helpful to him and repress all those that are detri- 
mental to the prospective citizen. And not least 
among those things that a boy must learn is the dig- 

[224] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

nity and necessity of work, and inasmuch as work to 
the boy usually means study, he must be taught to pre- 
pare his lessons regularly and thoroughly, for only by 
so doing can he hope to acquire those habits of mind 
that will make him a really efficient citizen of this great, 
free Republic. Though there are those who believe, 
or make believe, that knowledge gained from books is 
valueless and even an obstacle to a young man in the 
struggle for success, no intelligent person will be 
deceived by such doctrines, all of which spring from 
ignorance or a petty narrowness akin to ignorance. 
The young man is fortunate whose home environment 
gives him an opportunity to cultivate mind and heart, 
or rather does it for him, so that his mental horizon is 
broadened and his character strengthened without his 
being at the time conscious of it. 

Not only should the home develop the intellectual 
and moral nature of the boy but it should also give to 
him a strong body, for without a strong body the keen- 
est intellect and the noblest heart will fail. The nation 
needs men who can bear the physical strains laid upon 
them no less than the mental and moral strains. In 
fact, without strong bodies, men can not do the intel- 
lectual work that is required of them. For these rea- 
sons, children should be given an opportunity to play, 
for otherwise they will become prematurely old. The 
important thing to remember in this connection, how- 
ever, is that play and work should be kept separate: 
they should not play at work nor work at play, but 

[ 225 ] 



FEOM EOUGH EIDEE TO PEESIDENT 

give the whole mind to the occupation which engages 
them at the time. 

But above all, the manly virtues of truth, courage, 
and perseverance must not be neglected. From youth 
the child should be taught to love truth and sincerity 
and to despise falsehood and insincerity and to have 
ever the courage to stand boldly for what he knows to 
be right. "A coward who will take a blow without 
returning it is a contemptible creature ; but, after all, 
he is hardly as contemptible as the boy who dares not 
stand up for what he deems right against the sneers of 
his companions who are themselves wrong. . . . 
The very fact that the boy should be manly and able to 
hold his own, that he should be ashamed to submit to 
bullying without instant retaliation, should, in return, 
make him abhor any form of bullying, cruelty, or 
brutality. ... A healthy-minded boy should feel 
hearty contempt for the coward, and even more 
hearty indignation for the boy who bullies girls or 
small boys, or tortures animals. One prime reason for 
abhorring cowards is because every good boy should 
have it in him to thrash the objectionable boy as the 
need arises." * 

Nor must the grown man forget the principles that 
should govern the life of the boy, for they apply with 
even greater force to the man. Every citizen owes 
duties to himself, to his neighbor, and to the State. 



*From "The Strenuous Life," by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright The Century Company, New York. 

[226] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The first requisite in the performance of that duty is 
work ; no one who is idle can do his duty to himself or 
to any one else. The kind of work, the field in which 
one labors, does not matter, but it is all-important that 
every one do something. The place in which one 
should work depends wholly upon the inclination and 
the ability of the person, and it is of little importance 
where he does it. But "the law of life is work, and 
that work in itself, so far from being a hardship, is a 
great blessing, provided, always, it is carried on under 
conditions which preserve a man's self-respect and 
which allow him to develop his own character and rear 
his children so that he and they, as well as the whole 
community of which he and they are part, may steadily 
move onward and upward. The idler, rich or poor, is 
at best a useless and is generally a noxious member of 
the community. ' ' * 

Work alone, however, is not sufficient, if one would 
do one's duty, honestly, faithfully. Many a man who 
toils early and late never accomplishes anything, 
because he lacks the will-power to keep himself at one 
thing long enough. Troubles discourage, and dangers 
deter him ; he dares not look troubles unflinchingly in 
the face and boldly, honestly stand for his convictions 
though the world be against him. Such a man is nec- 
essarily outdone in the struggle for success. He who 
wishes to accomplish anything really worth the trou- 



* From ' ' The Strenuous Life, ' ' by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright The Century Company, New York. 

[227] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ble must not only aim high but must free himself from 
everything that hinders him and strive incessantly for 
the attainment of the end desired. 

It is a sad thing to see an ambitious soul go down in 
defeat, but it is sadder to behold a soul that is without 
real ambition, for that is defeat of the worst type. The 
State needs men of positive character : men who do no 
wrong, not because they are afraid to, but who do right 
because they prefer to stand for what is best in life. 
The crying need of the country to-day is for men and 
women who can live clean, healthy, active lives, — men 
and women who have learned in the hard school of 
experience how to ignore danger and to triumph over 
difficulties. 

"The man must be glad to do a man's work, to dare 
and endure and to labor; to keep himself, and to keep 
those dependent upon him. The woman must be the 
housewife, the helpmeet of the homemaker, the wise 
and fearless mother of many healthy children. . . . 
When men fear work or fear righteous war, when 
women fear motherhood, they tremble on the brink of 
doom ; and well it is that they should vanish from the 
earth, where they are fit subjects for the scorn of all 
men and women who are themselves strong and brave 
and high-minded. ' ' * 

But the strong, brave man who is not afraid to work 
has a duty which he owes to himself. Just as the boy 



* From "The Strenuous Life," by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright, The Century Co., New York. 

[228] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

must not sit too long over his books but must lay them 
aside to seek recreation, so must the man not forget 
that he hurts himself if he does not give over his pro- 
fessional duties from time to time to that higher duty 
of caring for his own bodily welfare. Dr. James's 
gospel of relaxation is a good one, and men should 
develop an interest in some form of recreative exercise. 
The high-pressure, commercial age in which we are 
living makes such relaxation all the more necessary, 
makes it imperative if we would avoid a nervous break- 
down. 

After one's regular duties have been done and a 
proper time given to healthful recreation, the remain- 
ing hours at one's disposal should not be spent in doing 
nothing, but in some form of self -improvement. The 
prudent man will use this time in reading good books 
or listening to lectures that will widen the sphere of 
one's knowledge. Intellectual activity will lead one to 
form high ideals, which can never be without value to 
him. 

" A man is worthless unless he has in him a lofty 
devotion to an ideal, and he is worthless also unless he 
strives to realize this ideal by practical methods." * It 
is not at all desirable nor necessary that the ambition 
should be for stocks and bonds. "After a certain 
amount of wealth has been accumulated, the accumula- 
tion of more is of very little consequence indeed from 

*From "The Strenuous Life," by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright, The Century Co., New York. 

[229] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the standpoint of success, as success should be under- 
stood both by the community and the individual. ' ' * 

Naturally every one must, for the sake of his own 
self-respect and the welfare of his family, seek to 
acquire a certain amount of wealth ; but no one should 
get the idea that material goods are the most important 
thing of life, for he would thereby lose out of his life 
those things that really make life worth living. It is 
far more important that one become acquainted with 
the heroes of American history and be inspired by the 
lofty ideals of such men as Grant, Washington, and 
Lincoln, than that he amass an immense fortune. 
Wealth is of value ; but great wealth, only as it serves 
the need of society as a whole. 

The aim of every good citizen must be an entire 
independence of the assistance of others, and all deeds 
of charity should be directed to that end. It is well to 
bear in mind that it is sometimes wrong to help people 
in need. Indiscriminate giving may, and often doubt- 
less does, help the giver but does the receiver no good. 
It is a duty which every one owes to the society in 
which he lives to help the one who has fallen, to place 
him upon his feet ; but it is equally important that aid 
be not extended bevond the actual need, and must cease 
when it is seen that the man does not want to help him- 
self. Every act of charity should be directed to mak- 
ing charity unnecessary, and any form of giving which 



* From "The Strenuous Life," by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright, The Century Co., New York. 

[230] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

does not do that is a detriment rather than a help to 
society. For that reason, the free soup counters are 
demoralizing; they encourage shiftlessness. It is true 
that they may be necessary as a temporary measure in 
time of a great disaster, as an earthquake, but as a per- 
manent method of distributing aid they are to be dis- 
couraged as evils but little less demoralizing than vice 
itself. With the exception of aid in behalf of little 
children, widows, and cripples, naked charity is not 
desirable. All help should be so given that it will be 
rendered thereby unsought and unnecessary in the 
future. 

Just as all charitable institutions should be regu- 
lated in such a way that they will contribute to the de- 
velopment of a strong, self-respecting independence in 
men and women, the State also should aid in that 
respect by seeing to it that all classes of citizens enjoy 
equal rights and privileges before the law, and that 
those who are powerful or evilly inclined are re- 
strained from doing violence to those who are for any 
reason unable to protect themselves. It is inevitable, 
though unfortunate, that, in a government to which 
millions of people belong, evil and designing men will 
occasionally get into office, and the sacred power of the 
State be prostituted to the interest of greed and self- 
ishness. But as the State is what the people as a 
whole make it, the responsibility rests upon the voters 
to place in control only those men who are above the 
tricks of the demagogue and the narrowness of short- 

[231] 



. FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

sighted politicians. In no other way can the State be 
made to serve the legitimate interest of the people. 

One of the most prolific causes of the failure of the 
government to serve the interest of the people is the 
misunderstanding of the two great classes of our peo- 
ple. Only when the rich and the poor, the employer 
and the employee, understand each other and look at 
things each from the standpoint of the other, will the 
State become the obedient servant of the highest inter- 
est of the people. There is more good in either class 
than the other dreams of, or will dream of until they 
come in personal contact with each other. Everything 
that tends to bring about a better understanding 
between the employer and the laboring classes, be it 
the press, the platform, or the pulpit, will render a 
lasting benefit to the State and to every citizen in it. 

Though the State should grant individual liberty in 
the largest measure consistent with the general wel- 
fare, it should never hesitate to interfere when anv 
man or any class of men use that liberty in a way sub- 
versive of the common welfare. Naturally no general 
rule can be laid down as to when the State should and 
when it should not intervene in citizens' private affairs. 
Each case must be handled on its own merit, but the 
fact should never be lost sight of that the interest of 
the community, which the State must serve, should 
always take precedence over that of any man or class 
of men. "We have exactly the same right to regulate 
the conditions of life and work in factories and 

[ 232 ] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

tenement houses that we have to regulate fire-escapes 
and the like in other houses. In certain communities 
the existence of a thoroughly efficient department of 
factory inspection is just as essential as the establish- 
ment of a fire department. How far we shall go in 
regulating the hours of labor, or the liabilities of 
employers, is a matter of expediency, and each case 
must be determined on its own merits, exactly as it is 
a matter of expediency to determine what so-called 
'public utilities' the community shall itself own and 
what ones it shall leave to private or corporate owner- 
ship, securing to itself merely the right to regulate. 
Sometimes one course is expedient, sometimes the 
other." 

An example of what an intelligent and cautious 
intervention of the State can do in labor difficulties 
was seen in the State of New York while Mr. Roosevelt 
was governor. The matter was dealt with in a two- 
fold way by making a distinction between laborers in 
the service of the State and those in the employment 
of private individuals. That the State might set an 
example for private business concerns to follow, it was 
enacted that eight hours should constitute a day for all 
laborers in the service of the State and that decent 
wages should be paid. The general result of the 
measure has been good. "Poor work is always dear, 
whether poorly paid or not, and good work is always 
well worth having; and as a mere question of expe- 
diency, aside even from the question of humanity, we 

[233] 



FROM KOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

find that we can obtain the best work by paying fair 
wages and permitting the work to go on only for a 
reasonable time. ' ' * 

For the benefit of the laboring men who were not 
in the service of the commonwealth, Mr. Roosevelt did 
something in an indirect way. He was instrumental 
in establishing the bureau of workingmen's statistics, 
of popularizing arbitration, and of securing more rigid 
inspection of factories. The Bureau of Statistics has 
not only collected data but it has directed the attention 
of the people to many things of importance to the 
State. Through arbitration many strikes have been 
brought to a satisfactory close, and by timely inter- 
vention an even greater number. On account of rigid 
factory inspection the disgraceful sweat-shops are dis- 
appearing and the condition of tenement houses is 
becoming better. 

Mr. Roosevelt always believed in applying the same 
high code of honor in intercourse with foreign nations 
that he advocated and practised in private and public 
life at home. He sought the advantage of no nation 
nor would he permit any nation to take the advantage 
of his. Believing, however, that the relation between 
the nations of the world should be that of neighbors, 
he conducted his negotiations with foreign powers on 
that basis. His sincere and frank way introduced a 
new method into diplomacy. He made the nations of 



♦From "The Strenuous Life," by Theodore Roosevelt. 
Copyright, The Century Co., New York. 

[234] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the world feel that the United States was a great and 
powerful but friendly neighbor with whom it was easy 
to live on terms of peace and with whom it was danger- 
ous to live any other way. The dreadful Monroe Doc- 
trine was in his hands none the less effective but less 
obnoxious to European powers, because he showed 
them the United States held to the Monroe Doctrine 
not for a selfish reason but on the broad ground of 
international peace, that this country was willing and 
ready to accord to every other nation equal commer- 
cial privileges on this continent and expected from the 
nations of Europe a similar consideration there. 



[235] 



CHAPTER XI 

PRACTICAL POLITICS 

fin HERE are two ever-living problems before the 
JL American statesmen : the problem of the relation 
between capital and labor with its attendant prob- 
lem, the trust, and the negro problem. Other prob- 
lems are important for a time; a presidential cam- 
paign may even be made upon them, as Free Silver in 
1896 and Imperialism in 1900 : but the other two prob- 
lems are ever present. No final solution seems possi- 
ble, because the problems arise out of conditions of 
society, which is constantly changing but in a way to 
make the solution more difficult rather than less diffi- 
cult. As the parties to the quarrel become more sensi- 
tive upon the subject, a higher and higher degree of 
statesmanship is required. The problems are a stand- 
ing challenge to the legislative and executive acumen 
of the American statesman. 

Without prejudice, as far as that is possible for any 
man, Mr. Roosevelt faced these two great problems, 
for every president of the United States has some- 
thing to do with them and must either help the country 
to a final solution of the problems or hinder it. Capi- 
talism has experienced in no other country such phe- 

[236] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

nomenal development as in the United States. Untold 
millions have been piled up in a few years by men who 
in boyhood were day-laborers. Such men deserve 
the respect of their fellow citizens on account of their 
business sagacity and the material prosperity which 
they bring to their country. It is equally important, 
however, and right that they recognize the additional 
responsibility which their wealth places upon them, 
that they consider their less fortunate brothers. Oth- 
erwise their great wealth becomes a menace to the 
country at large. 

Strange as it may seem, great wealth is more dan- 
gerous in the United States than almost anywhere 
else, because money gives power, political power. In 
spite of the fact that America is a republic that boasts 
of its democratic spirit, the millionaire can, if he 
wishes, control almost every election: he can buy 
judges, State legislatures, and even congressmen — 
and, what is even worse, may at times be compelled to 
do it to protect himself against the narrowness and 
cupidity of the men who make the laws. The blame 
for the political corruption rests not with any one 
particular class. Every time that a legislative vote or 
judicial decision is bought, there is the seller, but back 
of the seller are the electors who put the man in a 
place where he could sell himself to the money-power. 

If the managers of great industries unite, their 
power becomes even greater, and because greater more 
detrimental to the masses of the people. By crushing 

[2371 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

out competition, they set the prices for the entire 
country on the products which they control, and at the 
same time dictate the wage scale to their employees. 
If the laborers rebel, they close their shops, sell their 
products in stock at still more exorbitant prices, and 
appeal to the government for protection against the 
starving and infuriated workingmen. 

The laboring classes, realizing the futility of fight- 
ing the battle single-handed, protect themselves by the 
formation of unions. Though one man can do noth- 
ing against corporate wealth, the union is a force to 
be reckoned with, not only by the employers of labor 
but by the government as well. The unions exercise 
over their members just as tyrannical a power as the 
members of the trust. The trusts freeze out their 
competitors by lowering prices to a level at which no 
independent industry could live, and as soon as their 
object is accomplished, they raise the prices higher 
than they were before, in order to reimburse them- 
selves for the loss under the low prices; the unions 
refuse to allow their men to work with non-union men, 
or " scabs," as they are called in derision, dictate 
terms to the employer, and if their demands are 
rejected go on a strike, and sometimes resort to vio- 
lence to prevent the employment of non-union men in 
their places. 

In the lockouts and strikes, the workingmen suffer 
most, because they are poor and depend in a large 
measure at least upon their labor for their daily 

[238] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

bread ; but the employers are also injured by the stop- 
ping of their factories and by actual destruction of 
property. The country, however, is hurt the worst, 
perhaps, by strikes and lockouts, for they always 
engender class hatred, which renders the settlement of 
the trouble all the more difficult, as well as lays the 
ground for future disputes. 

" The question of the relation between capital and 
labor is a vital one," Mr. Roosevelt once remarked 
to his friend, Jacob Riis. " Whether your children 
and my children shall be happy or unhappy in this 
country in the year 1950, depends upon whether every 
man of honor is a firm friend to every other man of 
honor, be he working-man or capitalist. 'I am for 
the workingman,' or ' I am for the capitalist,' fails to 
place the emphasis where it belongs, upon the un- 
changeable law of right. This class spirit is the cancer 
that is eating away the life of our republic. I am for 
neither capital nor labor, but I am for honesty against 
dishonesty, for patriotism against selfishness, for right 
against wrong. ' ' 

In May, 1902, a strike broke out in the mining dis- 
tricts of Pennsylvania. About one hundred and forty- 
five thousand men threw down their shovels. The 
mine owners refused to yield, and the strike dragged 
on into October. A dire calamity stared the country 
in the face. Winter was coming on with no coal in 
sight — at least very little, and that little sold at exces- 
sive prices. Neither schools nor hospitals could be 

[239] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

heated, and many factories closed their doors. The 
president was flooded with letters and telegrams urg- 
ing him to interfere. The mayors of the coast cities 
protested and entreated: they pictured the awful sit- 
uation in which millions of people were placed by the 
strike, with winter coming on and with coal at twelve 
dollars per ton. In the meantime, the mine owners 
had rather cautiously but firmly intimated to the presi- 
dent that they expected him ' ' to keep his hands off ' ' 
and went so far even as to suggest that, if he wished 
to be elected president in 1904, he had better steer clear 
of the whole thing — which proves quite conclusively 
that the mine owners were not acquainted with the 
man to whom they were dictating. 

Mr. Eoosevelt had just met with an accident. In 
Massachusetts, his coach had collided with a street car ; 
the detective who sat beside him had been killed and 
he had received a painful injury in the leg, which pre- 
vented him from using the leg for several days. Dur- 
ing the time, Secretary Moody of the Navy Depart- 
ment visited him, and relates the following: 

" I found him sitting with the injured leg lying on 
a chair while the surgeon adjusted the bandage. Sev- 
eral times while I was there he gave visible signs of 
acute pain, though he said nothing about it. He spoke 
of the strike and the requests that became more urgent 
every hour. The outlook was serious. It seemed that 
the strike could not be brought to a close without his 
intervention, and intervention might mean political 

[240] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

death. I could see that it worried him. It was natural 
that he should hesitate in such a crisis. He waited 
long enough to learn everything of the suffering of the 
coast cities, of the closing of schools and hospitals, of 
the poor shivering in their rude homes without coal. 
He then gritted his teeth and said, ' Yes, I shall do it, 
I believe that it will prove my ruin politically, but it 
is right and I will do it. ' ' ' 

And he did do it. In spite of the threats of the mine 
owners, he intervened by calling a meeting of the rep- 
resentatives of both parties at the White House, at 
which he gave them to understand that something had 
to be done or else the government itself would take 
control. An agreement was reached, and the miners 
went to work. 

There was rejoicing throughout the country. The 
governor of Massachusetts wrote the president a let- 
ter expressing to him " the thanks of every man, 
woman, and child in the commonwealth." To which 
Mr. Roosevelt replied, ' ' Yes, we have won, but heaven 
and earth! it has been a hard fight! " And it had 
been a hard fight, and the mutterings were not yet 
over. The mine owners complained bitterly of what 
they termed his meddling in affairs of private persons. 
They said that the strike would have ended soon any- 
way by the miners going to work, compelled by want 
and misery. And, of course, on terms more favorable 
to them. 

Frequently during the time the strike was in prog- 

[ 241 ] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

ress, disorders broke out in the mining districts. The 
State militia was sent to keep peace, and finally the 
president ordered a detachment of the regular army 
into the region. The workingmen resented that action 
and accused the president of partiality to the wealthy 
classes, though his purpose was to protect public prop- 
erty and to see to it that every one, rich and poor alike, 
was treated fairly, honestly. 

One day when he had invited a number of working- 
men to a dinner, a representative of labor remarked 
that at last his co-workers had found an open ear in the 
White House. 

"Yes," replied the president, "the door of the 
White House will open for workingmen as easily as 
for capitalists, as long as I am here, but no easier." 

The conclusion was hardly to their liking. They did 
not want the same treatment as the capitalists but a 
preferential treatment. Some times the laboring 
men expected too much of the president, and seemed to 
think that he should put himself at their service and 
make their cause his. They forgot that he was the 
servant of all classes, and that he was not an advo- 
cate to plead the cause of any one, but a judge whose 
duty it was to use his power to bring about peace and 
justice between man and man. 

For instance, a non-union man was employed in the 
government printing office at Washington. The union 
asked that he be dismissed and the manager yielded in 
order to avoid trouble. When Mr. Eoosevelt heard of 

[242] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

it, however, lie ordered the man to be reinstated imme- 
diately. The labor leaders at once called upon the 
president and remonstrated against his action. They 
finally declared that the man could not meet the 
requirements expected of him. 

" That is another question entirely," replied Mr. 
Roosevelt. " I shall investigate that matter. But as 
to the fact of his being a non-union man, the oath of 
office under which I serve does not recognize that at all. 
I am president of the United States and it is my duty 
to see that justice is done without regard to creed, 
color, occupation, or social standing. Whether a per- 
son is a union or non-union man will have no more 
weight with me in determining his fitness for a gov- 
ernment office than whether he is a Protestant or 
Catholic, Jew or agnostic." 

Though he did not take sides with the laboring men, 
he did not espouse the cause of the capitalists. He 
deemed it his duty to stand above both in order that he 
might do his duty to both. The capitalists declared 
that he was in league with the workingmen against 
them, but the charge was false. He was in league with 
no one, he fought against no one. He is himself a rich 
man and knows the value of wealth to a country, to all 
classes of people. Nor was he ever the sworn enemy of 
trusts, as is sometimes declared. He has been and is 
the enemy of dishonest practices of the trusts, as he 
has been and is the enemy of the dishonest practices of 
workingmen. As long as corporate wealth stayed 

[243] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

within its legitimate bounds, he was its friend; but, 
whenever it encroached upon the rights of others, he 
brought it to the bar of justice. 

One reason, said Mr. Roosevelt, why the people hate 
the trusts so much is that such an air of mystery sur- 
rounds all they do. People are naturally suspicious of 
what they can not understand. As long as trusts 
guard their business methods as if they had a reprov- 
ing conscience, the people will suspect that something 
crooked is being done. If, on the other hand, they would 
accustom themselves to acting frankly, openly in the 
eye of the public and give all the information desired 
freely to the Department of Commerce and Labor, 
they would not only win the respect of the people at 
large but they would also secure greater efficiency in 
the administrative details of their business. No hon- 
est business can suffer, but may be greatly helped by 
doing every thing in an open and frank manner. 

Often the trusts had ample reason for fearing pub- 
licity. The Beef Trust, for instance, had increased 
prices one-third, all of which they put into their own 
pockets, for investigation showed that cattle had 
neither increased in price nor decreased in numbers. 
It was a clear case of fraud and Mr. Roosevelt had 
charges preferred against the trust. Though the mem- 
bers were shrewd enough to escape by the dissolution 
of the trust, the main purpose had been attained, the 
putting an end to the nefarious practices. Even more 
had been accomplished : a precedent had been set. 

[244] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Later when the conditions existing in the meat mar- 
kets of Chicago became known, President Roosevelt 
without hesitation sent a committee to investigate. On 
the basis of evidence secured by the committee, he sent 
an urgent recommendation to Congress for some kind 
of a law for regulating the quality of manufactured 
food products. For seventeen years such a measure 
had been before Congress, but each time that it was 
brought up for passage it was chloroformed into a 
long and quiet sleep through the influence of favored 
interests. But after the investigation and the disclos- 
ures in Chicago, Congress dared not ignore the wishes 
of the president and the demands of the country, for 
press, pulpit, and platform were back of the president 
to a remarkable degree. The law reached final pas- 
sage in the early days of 1907. It compelled manufac- 
turers of food products to label their goods in such a 
way that people could tell readily the quality of the 
foods bought. A severe penalty for violations of the 
law was provided, and manufacturing establishments 
generally fell in with the spirit of the law, for it was a 
help to the trade itself, inasmuch as it enabled the pub- 
lic to distinguish between reputable and disreputable 
brands. 

Disinterested, however, as had been Mr. Roosevelt's 
proceedings against the trusts, he was accused by some 
people of favoritism. It was charged that he played 
continually for popularity by prosecuting enough of 
the trusts to win the support of the masses, who would 

[245] 



FROM ROUGH EIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

not see through his designs, but he was always careful 
to stop short, in his prosecutions, of losing the politi- 
cal favor of great corporations. " Of course, " said 
his enemies, " he had to prosecute the Beef Trust, for 
its methods were so flagrant that the people demanded 
that something be done. You will notice, however, 
that he has not touched the Steel Trust, which is 
acknowledged to be one of the worst. ' ' And it is true 
that he did not institute proceedings against the Steel 
Trust, but for reasons very different from those as- 
signed to him. The attorney-general, whom he had 
instructed to investigate the Steel Trust, said that 
there would be no possibility of winning before the 
courts, and advised that the matter be allowed to rest 
till a more favorable time. Mr. Roosevelt's conclu- 
sion not to begin proceedings against the Steel Trust 
was dictated by sound statesmanship. He did not care 
to take up a fight in which he was sure to be defeated : 
it would not only do the cause no good but it would 
work actual harm to the government itself. Had Mr. 
Roosevelt been seeking political favor, he could have 
indicted the trust and have thrown the responsibility 
for defeat upon the law and the courts ; but he never 
sought favor in that way. 

With the same earnestness and impartiality which 
he had used in dealing with the problem of capital and 
labor, he tried to do something in the way of a solu- 
tion of the negro problem. The negro problem in the 
United States is a serious one. The Emancipation 

[ 246 ] 



FROM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Proclamation (January 1, 1863) declared the freedom 
of the slaves in the seceded States, and the Thirteenth 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
(December 18, 1865) extended the provisions to all 
parts of the federal union. The number of free Amer- 
icans was increased four millions. The negroes, how- 
ever, did not know how to use the newly acquired free- 
dom and remained for the most part in the service of 
their old masters. 

To-day, after more than forty years since the shack- 
les of servitude were stricken from them, they are free 
only in name. Their constantly increasing numbers — 
there were, according to the census of 1900, more than 
ten million negroes in the United States — fill the white 
population with ever-deepening apprehension of a 
possible negro uprising with all of its attendant hor- 
rors. What to do with the negro is a question that 
every statesman has to face, but one that has not yet 
been met successfully. To transport the negroes to 
Africa is now impossible, whatever might have been 
the case at the close of the Civil War, and the problem 
becomes one of how the white population can absorb 
the colored race with the least harm to itself. 

It is always difficult enough to make two races live 
side by side in peace, and the difficulty is intensified in 
the United States by the fact that the negroes were 
once slaves. The Southern people are accustomed to 
intercourse with the negroes, but in a manner not very 
helpful to either the negro or the white man. They 

[247] 



FROM EOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

are treated as an inferior race, as a people whose duty 
it is to be the " hewer of wood and carrier of water " 
for their more favored brothers. In spite of the Con- 
stitution of the United States to the contrary, in the 
Southern States, color, or rather the lack of it, is the 
badge of power. In many places, the negroes have vir- 
tually been reenslaved by laws which enable the 
whites to keep in their service negroes to whom they 
have advanced loans. The white people are not as 
careful as they should be, perhaps, of the education of 
the negro, for the very obvious reason that he could 
not be kept long in a condition of dependency. Of 
course, the Constitution of the United States gives the 
negro the right to vote, but the Southern States have 
found a way of disfranchising the majoriy of the negro 
population by educational qualifications which apply 
to ignorant blacks but not to equally ignorant whites. 
In many parts of the South, the negro population is 
greater than the white and the whites resort to these 
indirect methods to retain political control. 

Nor is the hatred against the negro confined wholly 
to the Southern States. The people of the North and 
West have no particular love for the negro. They do 
not wish to stay all night at the same hotels that 
the negro patronizes ; they object to him as an official ; 
they even dislike a colored postman. In some places 
in the North and "West, certain people are insisting 
that railroads provide separate coaches for negroes as 
is done in the South — a demand which is not likely to 

[248] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

be complied with for the reason that there are not 
enough negroes to justify the additional expense. 

Furthermore, no opportunity is lost anywhere to 
punish the negro for violations of the law. The per- 
centage of convictions among the negroes is far higher 
than among the whites, but it is only fair to add that 
the court record is not an altogether just standard for 
determining the comparative criminal tendencies of 
the two races, though it is used by those who are op- 
posed to the black man to prove his natural depravity. 
The truth of the matter is, negroes are frequently pun- 
ished for offences for which whites are allowed to go 
free. 

It might also be said that the court records do not 
show all the offences of the negroes. The white people 
only too often take the law into their own hands and 
mete out justice, more frequently injustice, to colored 
offenders. A very small offence is all that is necessary 
to inflame a race riot in which hundreds of innocent 
negroes are sure to fall victims to the insane passion of 
white men. For instance, in September, 1906, a riot 
broke out in Atlanta, Georgia. Men, women, and chil- 
dren were stoned and shot; they were pulled out of 
street cars and beaten to death. Thousands of infuri- 
ated white people searched for negroes who hid in cel- 
lars and attics ; and not till eight companies of infan- 
try and one piece of field artillery appeared could the 
authorities stop the wholesale slaughter. 

It must be admitted that the negroes sometimes 

[249 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

strike back in revenge, but this does not justify the 
cruelties of the white people. A few years ago the 
Evening Post of Vicksburg, Mississippi, reported a 
lynching which outdid the annals of the American 
Indian for cruelty. A negro was under the suspicion 
of having murdered a white man; when he learned 
that he was suspected, he fled with his surely innocent 
wife. They were both captured and tied to a tree. 
Then the angry mob began its devilish work : they cut 
off finger after finger and distributed them as keep- 
sakes to the crowd; they cut off their ears; they pulled 
out pieces of flesh with cork-screws ; and at last they 
burned them at the stake. 

Mr. Eoosevelt condemned such atrocities against 
the negro without hesitation, without mincing words. 
" A mob," said he, August 6, 1903, in a letter to the 
governor of Indiana, ' ' is simply a form of anarchy, 
and anarchy to-day is just what it has always been : 
the servant and forerunner of tyranny. . . . All 
thinking men must be filled with direful apprehensions 
on account of the more and more frequent occurrence 
of lynching throughout our country, especially the 
revolting forms which the cruelties of the mob often 
take if a negro is the victim. In some cases, the mob 
seems to be concerned more about the color of the 
guilty one than about the crime itself. . . . 
Lynching itself is terrible even when it is restricted to 
those who are guilty of the inhuman crime of rape, but 
in fact it is never so limited nor indeed can be. Every 

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FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

man inclined to use force to accomplish an illegitimate 
purpose is encouraged by every case of lynching, in 
which the mob goes unpunished, to take the law into 
his own hands as he sees fit. The inhuman tortures 
resorted to by mobs at times will inevitably spread to 
others; a mob makes no distinction in crimes. The 
spirit of lawlessness grows with the form in which it 
receives nourishment ; and, if the mob lynch criminals 
for certain reasons, they will, sooner or later, be ready 
to lynch real or would-be criminals for other reasons. 
. . . No patriotic citizen can be blind to the hide- 
ousness of mob violence nor to the ultimate result to 
which it must inevitably lead. All men and women in 
public life, editors, writers, ministers, teachers, law- 
yers, doctors, all who have any opportunity of appeal- 
ing to the public conscience, should unite to stigmatize 
energetically such crimes and to support those whose 
duty it is to suppress them. We must as a people stand 
up for the liberty and decent treatment of every 
human being without regard to creed or color. We 
shall lose our own right to freedom if we tolerate 
crimes like those of which I am speaking." 

Mr. Roosevelt regards the negroes as citizens of the 
United States the same as white men, and holds that 
they should, therefore, enjoy the same rights and priv- 
ileges and be subjected to no exceptional laws. If the 
white man would do that and see to it that the negro 
had an opportunity to educate himself in the same way 
as his former masters, he would gradually acquire that 

[251] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

self-reliance and independence which would make him 
feel as an American citizen. With education of the 
right sort would disappear, too, all ground for fear on 
the part of the white man of negro revenge, for, if both 
races were protected and rewarded alike according to 
merit without distinction of color, the negroes would 
not think of taking bloody revenge but would work 
shoulder to shoulder with their white brothers in up- 
holding the national honor and promoting the wel- 
fare of the whole people. 

In his dealings with the negroes, Mr. Roosevelt has 
always been guided by general principles of right and 
justice. When he led his "Bough. Biders " up San 
Juan Hill, the Tenth Begiment of cavalry (colored) 
joined him. All their white officers were killed and the 
command devolved upon Mr. Boosevelt. He treated 
them with the same respect that he treated his own 
men, and they reciprocated, obeyed him willingly and 
were as proud of their leader as the ' ' Bough Biders ' ' 
themselves. And the example of Mr. Boosevelt at that 
time was not without good effect. Though the major- 
ity of the ' ' Bough Biders ' ' were from the West where 
the sentiment against the negro is strong, they were on 
the best of terms with their colored companions and 
drank with them out of the same canteen. 

How receptive and grateful the negro is for kind- 
ness at the hand of Colonel Boosevelt and his men is 
shown by an incident that happened shortly before the 
storming of San Juan Hill. As the "Bough Biders" 

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FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

passed the Tenth Regiment to the attack, some of the 
men saw a negro on the ground whose neck artery 
had been cut by an enemy's bullet, and who would 
have bled to death in a short time. A cowboy seeing 
the situation went to his relief ; he stopped the flow of 
blood by pressing his finger upon the wound. He 
looked around for a surgeon but none was in sight. 
He threw his gun aside, sat down by the wounded man 
and sorrowfully watched his companions work their 
way up the hill ; but not till a surgeon relieved him did 
he join his friends at the front. At the hospital to 
which the negro was taken, he told with tearful eyes 
how a ' ' Rough Rider ' ' had saved his life, and con- 
cluded, " Yes, he did that — and yet I am only a ' nig- 
ger' ! " 

Mr. Roosevelt has often given offence, especially to 
Southern people, by his treatment of the negro. When, 
in October, 1907, he invited Booker T. Washington, a 
man who has done more for his race than all white men 
combined, to the White House and dined with him, a 
storm of indignation arose. Mr. Roosevelt, however, 
did not care. To him the black man who had risen 
from slavery to a position of such power and influence 
among his people was worthy of the highest honor. 
He had built for himself a lasting monument in the 
great institution which he established at Tuskegee. 
He had done things and was still doing things and the 
president of the United States felt that he should like 
to hear from his own lips the opinions of the greatest 

[253] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

of his race on the vexed negro question. That the man 
was black, mattered not at all to him; he was a loyal 
citizen and an honorable man and, therefore, worthy 
to sit at the first table of the land. 

In many Southern States, the negro population is 
far greater than the white. In South Carolina the col- 
ored vote exceeds the white by twenty thousand. Mr. 
Eoosevelt, therefore, thought it nothing but right that 
the negroes should have at least one of the important 
federal offices of the State, provided a suitable man 
could be found. He accordingly appointed Dr. Crum, 
the negro physician, collector of customs at Charles- 
ton. In spite of the fact that Dr. Crum was a man of 
irreproachable character and excellent education, a 
man highly respected not only by his own people but 
by white men as well, President Roosevelt was bitterly 
criticised by a number of newspapers and accused of 
trying to introduce negro dominance in the South. 
They threatened that, if he ever visited the South, the 
people would show him how little they thought of him 
and his pro-negro sentiments. 

Fortunately, however, the people of the South were 
far more noble and patriotic than the press would 
have the country think, for when Mr. Eoosevelt did 
visit the South on one of his tours of the United States, 
he was accorded the highest respect everywhere and 
thousands of people came out to hear what he had to 
say. At Springfield, Illinois, at the tomb of Lincoln, 
where a detachment of colored militia was drawn up, 

[254] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Mr. Roosevelt took occasion to express his opinion in 
regard to the negro. He said, remembering the brav- 
ery of the negro regiment in the Cuban campaign, 
that " men who had been good enough to shed their 
blood for their country were good enough to deserve 
decent treatment from that country and its people." 

During his administration, Mr. Roosevelt was 
especially solicitous for the welfare of the army and 
navy. In his " Life of Thomas H. Benton," in speak- 
ing of the Civil War, he says that the unprepared- 
ness of the United States government for war is pro- 
verbial and then adds that there is always more danger 
of spending too little than of spending too much for 
protection against a possible war. He had himself 
seen how inefficient the army and navy were during the 
Cuban war. As soon, therefore, as the opportunity 
was given him, he set about with characteristic zeal to 
raise the standard of efficiency of the fighting forces. 

According to the law of February 2, 1901, the army 
shall consist of — besides the staff of administration 
and technical troops, such as the railroad and field- 
telegraph corps — fifteen regiments of cavalry, thirty 
regiments of infantry, and one artillery corps. A regi- 
ment of infantry is divided into three battalions of 
four companies each; a cavalry regiment into three 
detachments of four troops each. Every regiment, 
infantry and cavalry, has a colonel, a lieutenant-col- 
onel, three majors, fifteen captains, fifteen first-lieuten- 
ants, and fifteen lieutenants. The artillery corps is 

[255] 



FROM EOUGH EIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

divided into field artillery, to which also belong the 
occupation-artillery, mountain-artillery, and machine- 
gun batteries, together with thirty battalions ; and into 
the coast artillery, to which belong those having charge 
of submarine mines and torpedoes, together with one 
hundred and twenty-six battalions. 

Another interesting feature of the law is the clause 
which gives volunteer officers of the Spanish- American 
War the right to retain the titles they held at the close 
of the war and to wear on solemn occasions the uni- 
forms of their rank. According to this, Mr. Eoosevelt 
will be entitled to wear the uniform of a brigadier- 
general, for he was brevetted brigadier-general after 
the battle of San Juan. As president he is comman- 
der-in-chief of all the forces on land and sea. 

As a supplement to the law of 1901, another was 
passed, January 23, 1903, known as the " Law for the 
Increase of the Efficiency of the Militia. ' ' All able- 
bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five 
belong to the militia. The militia is divided into two 
classes, the organized, or National Guard, and the 
Reserve. The organized militia is drilled in the same 
manner as the standing army. The president has the 
right to call the militia to the colors whenever he 
deems it advisable, and he may keep them under arms 
as much as nine months in a year. The militia when in 
service get the same pay as members of the standing 
army, and are court-martialled for failure to report 
when called into service. 

[256] 



FEOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The militia in the various States is under the super- 
vision of the adjutant-general, who in turn is respon- 
sible to the secretary of war. The militia is drilled in 
companies and regiments. Special attention is given 
to long marches, camp life (at least five days in succes- 
sion), as well as to firing tactics and target practice. 

Article 23 of the law deals in detail with the candi- 
dates for commissioned officers. The applicants must 
pass an examination in order to prove that they have 
the practical qualifications. Another clause is espe- 
cially interesting: it provides that no one shall be 
appointed lieutenant after he has reached the age of 
thirty, first lieutenant after thirty-five, captain after 
forty, major after forty-five, lieutenant-colonel after 
fifty, and colonel after fifty-five. 

The limited extent of this little book forbids our 
going deeper into details of Roosevelt's army reforms. 
His influence extended to every department of govern- 
ment. Commerce and industry, agriculture and for- 
estry, every branch of the government service received 
his earnest attention. He wiped out abuses that had 
crept into the post-office department ; he reformed the 
diplomatic and consular service by sending able men 
to foreign countries; he compelled the courts to be 
more punctual in the discharge of their duties; he 
introduced system and fairness into the pension bureau 
and saw to it that the old soldier, the widow, and the 
orphan were cared for; he set the whole executive 
machinery into more regular and quicker motion ; and 

[257] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

he even dared to reform the English spelling. But not 
only did he make the executive department more effici- 
ent than it had ever been before (at least for years), 
but he spurred Congress to such unusual activity that 
the sessions under his administration are looked upon 
as the most important in the life of the Republic. He 
accomplished much and lasting good, but he did not 
accomplish all that he wished to do. 

As far as administrative measures were concerned 
he succeeded, for there he had a free hand, but when- 
ever new legislation was needed to make any reform 
effective, he was handicapped, for Congress is the law- 
making body in the American republic. The president 
can not get the most popular measure enacted into law 
unless the members of Congress are willing, excepting 
in war times, when Congress is to all intents and pur- 
poses the servant of the president, who has almost 
unlimited powers. 

Had Mr. Roosevelt done nothing more than what we 
have thus far mentioned, he would have had a just 
claim upon every American citizen as a benefactor of 
mankind. Whether his name would have extended to 
foreign nations and whether the United States would 
to-day hold the place which she holds in the council of 
Nations, is more than doubtful. The course of Ameri- 
can politics usually runs smoothly without disturbing 
in the least the great stream of world affairs ; but un- 
der Mr. Roosevelt the Stars and Stripes became known 
and respected in all civilized countries. As never 

[ 258] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

before, America played her part in the great game of 
world politics. 

Under the leadership of President McKinley, Cuba 
and the Philippines had been freed from the Spanish 
yoke, but it was under the direction of him who led his 
" Rough Riders" up San Juan Hill that Cuba came 
into possession of real liberty and peace and that the 
Philippines passed from a state of chaos to that of 
order through American discipline and education. 

It is true that a permanent occupation of the Philip- 
pine Islands would be in every way contradictory to 
the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, of which Mr. Roose- 
velt is a firm adherent, for, if America belongs to 
Americans, the same doctrines teach that the Philip- 
pines belong to the Filipinos. If the Americans will 
not acknowledge the right of the Filipinos to self-gov- 
ernment, they can not consistently support the Monroe 
Doctrine as interpreted and advocated by Mr. Roose- 
velt and his adherents. Of course, the full and ulti- 
mate conclusions of the Monroe Doctrine have never 
been insisted on. Canada still belongs to England, 
and the United States has frequently interfered in 
European affairs, for instance in Turkey and Rou- 
mania. When, on the other hand, Germany, England, 
and Italy blockaded, in the year 1901, some ports of 
Venezuela, Mr. Roosevelt, pointing to the Monroe Doc- 
trine as a precedent, at once asked for an assurance 
that a permanent occupation of the region was not 
intended. 

[259] 



FROM ROUGH' EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Though the doctrine, as enunciated by James Mon- 
roe in 1823, originally provided only that no European 
power should acquire territory on the American con- 
tinent nor should interfere at all in American 
affairs, and that the American would not meddle with 
European matters, the United States has advanced 
step by step till now she asserts the right to act as a 
protector over the Central and South American States. 
Venezuela could, therefore, hide behind her " big 
brother " of the North, who had assumed the task of 
protecting her as well as other American States. The 
Monroe Doctrine makes it possible for the United 
States to build the Panama Canal with American 
money, under her own exclusive supervision and con- 
trol. 

By a treaty bearing the date of November 18, 1903, 
the newly formed Republic of Panama ceded to the 
United States a strip of land ten miles wide, five miles 
each side of the proposed canal, and granted to the 
United States the right to erect fortifications thereon 
at her own discretion. The United States paid to the 
old Panama Company for certain material and work 
done forty million dollars and has pledged herself to 
pay to the government of Panama ten million dollars 
when the canal shall have been completed, and an 
annual dividend of one-fourth million dollars there- 
after, and has guaranteed the independence of the 
Eepublic of Panama and bound herself to preserve 
peace in the Isthmus. That Mr. Roosevelt has assured 

[260] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the building of the canal and of keeping it under the 
jurisdiction of the United States is a task the value of 
which only future generations can appreciate. Not 
only will the nations of the Western Hemisphere be 
benefited by it, but the nations of the world will share in 
the advantages of the great canal. 

As with the Panama Canal, so with the Hague Tri- 
bunal, the name of Theodore Roosevelt is inseparably 
linked. Though Mr. Roosevelt is not a blatant advo- 
cate of peace, though he does not believe in peace at all 
hazards, he sees in an international court of arbitra- 
tion, such as the Hague Tribunal, a far-reaching power 
for good in settling in a peaceful way difficulties 
between nations. To strengthen its authority, he 
declined, in 1902, the role of arbitrator of the Vene- 
zuela trouble and suggested that the matter be laid 
before the Hague Court for decision. 

It is still fresh in the memory of men how he brought 
the Russian-Japanese war to a close. After the war 
had been in progress for sixteen months, he took it 
upon himself to inform the hostile governments that 
war had continued long enough, that enough blood 
had been shed, and that the interests of mankind de- 
manded that they come to some agreement whereby 
hostilities might cease. His note to the respective 
powers was as follows : 

" The president feels that the time has come when in the 
interest of all mankind he must endeavor to see if it is not 
possible to bring to an end the terrible and lamentable con- 

'[ 261 ] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

flict now being waged. With both Russia and Japan the 
United States has inherited ties of friendship and good will. 
It hopes for the prosperity and welfare of each, and it feels 
that the progress of the world is set back by the war between 
these two great nations. The president accordingly urges the 
Russian and Japanese governments, not only for their own 
sakes, but in the interest of the whole civilized world, to 
open direct negotiations for peace with each other. The pres- 
ident suggests that these peace negotiations be conducted 
directly and exclusively between the belligerents. . . . 
While the president does not feel that any intermediary 
should be called in in respect to peace negotiations them- 
selves, he is entirely willing to do what he properly can if 
the two powers concerned feel that his services will be of 
aid in arranging the preliminaries as to the time and place 
of meeting. But even if these preliminaries can be arranged 
directly between the two powers, or in any other way, the 
president will be glad, as his sole purpose is to bring about a 
meeting which the whole civilized world will pray may result 
in peace." 

The earnest, manly appeal bore fruit. On August 
5, Mr. Roosevelt had the pleasure of introducing the 
representatives of Japan and Eussia on board the 
Mayflower, and on August 12, the peace preliminaries 
began at Portsmouth, the American war port in New 
Hampshire. The negotiations between Witte and 
Komura progressed nicely till the question of indem- 
nity was reached. Japan asked a money indemnity 
and the cession of the island of Saghalien, both of 
which the Russian commissioners refused to grant. 
It seemed for a time as if the negotiations would be 
broken off without having accomplished anything. Mr. 

[262] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Roosevelt again exerted himself to prevent such a 
break, and was successful. On September 5, the pleni- 
potentiaries reached an agreement and peace was 
secured. Continuously from the time that he sent his 
first note to the powers in June till peace was declared 
on September 5, Mr. Roosevelt used his great influence 
to further the cause of peace, and deserves the thanks 
of the civilized world for what he accomplished. 

Many other things might yet be mentioned that Mr. 
Roosevelt did, during his administration, to the lasting 
benefit of his country : the law against anarchists, his 
financial policy, his attempt to suppress the use of 
opium, the termination of border difficulties in 
Alaska, the purchase of the Danish Antilles, his inter- 
position in behalf of the Roumanian and Russian Jews, 
his tariff reciprocity with the German Empire, his al- 
laying of the ' ' yellow peril ' ' scare in California, and 
others too numerous to mention. Space forbids, for 
to go into all these things in detail would be to give a 
history of the United States at the beginning of the 
twentieth century. 

The spirit that moved Mr. Roosevelt to the perform- 
ance of these manifold duties was always the same : a 
pure and lofty love for his country and the desire to 
help his fellow citizens, and as far as in him lay his 
fellow beings, to the full attainment and the just 
appreciation of their rights, these were the guiding 
motives of his life as president of the United States. 

Nor have his methods of attaining his ends ever 

[263] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

changed. He is not an advocate of the doctrine that 
the end will justify the means ; but he has always stu- 
diously avoided crooked paths to his goal. His often 
almost baffling sincerity and frankness has made its 
impression upon his people. They had too often seen 
a president at the head of their nation who would hide 
his purposes behind a smiling exterior and cover his 
actions with a veil of secrecy. But no secrecy with 
Roosevelt ! All the people know what he wishes to do 
and why he wants to do it. 

That the people were satisfied with his politics and 
grateful for his success is shown by his election in 
1904. At the Republican National Convention of that 
year in Chicago, the speeches were one long song of 
praise of his administration and his character. Ex- 
Governor Black of New York said, among other things : 

" He is no slender flower swaying in the wind, but that 
heroic fibre which is best nurtured by the mountains and 
snow. He spends little time in review, for that he knows 
can be done by the schools. A statesman grappling with the 
living problems of the hour he gropes but little in the past. 
He believes in going ahead. He believes that in shaping the 
destinies of this great republic, hope is a higher impulse than 
regret. He believes that preparation for future triumphs is 
a more important duty than an inventory of past mistakes. 
A profound student of history, he is to-day the greatest his- 
tory maker in the world The fate of nations is 

still decided by their wars. You may talk of orderly tribunals 
and learned referees ; you may sing in your schools the gen- 
tle praises of the quiet life ; you may strike from your books 
the last note of every martial anthem, and yet out in the 

[264] 



FROM HOUGH' EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

smoke and thunder will always be the tramp of horses and 
the silent, rigid, upturned face. Men may prophesy and 
women pray, but peace will come here to abide forever on this 
earth only when the dreams of childhood are the accepted 
charts to guide the destinies of men. Events are numberless 
and mighty, and no man can tell which wire runs around the 
world. The nation basking to-day in the quiet of contentment 
and repose may still be on the deadly circuit and to-morrow 
writhing in the toils of war. This is the time when great 
figures must be kept in front. If the pressure is great the 
material to resist it must be granite and iron. Whether we 
wish it or not, America is abroad in this world. Her inter- 
ests are in every street, her name is on every tongue. Those 
interests so sacred and stupendous should be trusted only to 
the care of those whose power, skill, and courage have been 
tested and approved. And in the man whom you will choose, 
the highest sense of every nation in the world beholds a man 
who typifies as no other living American does, the spirit and 
the purposes of the twentieth century. He does not claim to 
be the Solomon of his time. There are many things he may 
not know, but this is sure, that above all things else he stands 
for progress, courage, and fair play, which are the synonyms 
of the American name. 

' ' There are times when great fitness is hardly less than des- 
tiny, when the elements so come together that they select the 
agent they will use. Events sometimes select the strongest 
man, as lightning goes down the highest rod. And so it is 
with those events which for many months with unerring sight 
have led you to a single name which I am chosen only to 
pronounce: Gentlemen, I nominate for president of the 
United States the highest living type of the youth, the vigor, 
and the promise of a great country and a great age, Theodore 
Roosevelt of New York." 

Immense and long was the applause which greeted 
Mr. Black as he closed his speech. Senator Beveridge 

[265] 



FROM BOUGH EIDEE TO PRESIDENT 

of Indiana then stepped forward, and addressed the 
convention as follows: 

" Gentlemen of the Convention: — One difference between 
the opposition and ourselves is this: They select their can- 
didate for the people, and the people select our candidate for 
us. . . . Theodore Roosevelt is a leader who leads 
. . . While he is president no wrong-doer in the service 
of the Government will go unwhipped of justice. . . . 
The American people will elect him because, in a word, they 
know that he does things the people want done; does things, 
not merely discusses them — does things only after discussing 
them — but does things; and does only those things the 
people would have him do. . . . And so the people trust 
him as a statesman. Better than that, they love him as a 
man. He wins admiration in vain who wins not affection 
also. In the American home — that temple of happiness and 
virtue where dwell the wives and mothers of the Republic, 
cherishing the beautiful in life and guarding the morality 
of the Nation — in the American home the name of Theodore 
Roosevelt is not only honored but beloved. And that is a 
greater triumph than the victory of battlefields, greater 
credit than successful statesmanship, greater honor than the 
presidency itself would be without it. Life holds no re- 
ward so noble as the confidence and love of the American 
people. . . . Full of the old-time faith in the Republic 
and its destiny; charged with the energy of the Republic's 
full manhood; cherishing the ordinances of the Republic's 
fathers and having in his heart the fear of God ; inspired by 
the sure knowledge that the Republic's splendid day is only 
in its dawn, Theodore Roosevelt will lead the American peo- 
ple in paths of safety to still greater welfare for themselves, 
still broader betterment of the race and to the added honor of 
the American name." 

[266] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

Then a delegate from Georgia arose and voiced the 
sentiment of the State that was going to show contempt 
for him, according to the report of newspapers. 

" We of the South believe in Roosevelt, and in his ability 
to meet every issue at home and abroad, triumphantly. We 
believe that he is animated by a spirit of patriotism as broad 
and as bright as has ever streamed from the White House over 
our beloved country; and we believe that when he has ful- 
filled his mission, he, the son of the North and South, will 
carry with him the .consciousness that Fatherland and 
Motherland, once divorced in sadness, through him and be- 
cause of him have been drawn together again in the bonds 
of the old affection. And we believe that when he goes at 
length into the retirement of private life, he will go beloved 
of all patriotic Americans, from Canada to the Gulf and from 
Ocean to Ocean." 

When the speeches were ended, the chairman of the 
convention said: " The total number of votes in the 
convention is 994. Theodore Roosevelt has received 
994 votes ; and it only remains for me to announce that 
Theodore Roosevelt, of the State of New York, is your 
candidate for the presidency for the term commence- 
ing on the fourth of March, 1905." 

What the representatives of the various States had 
promised, the people made good at the polls in Novem- 
ber. States and districts which had never before gone 
Republican voted for Roosevelt, so that he was elected 
with a majority of more than two millions. His was 
the most overwhelming victory in the history of the 
United States. A statement of a Democrat and, 
therefore, a man who opposed Mr. Roosevelt, may fitly 

[267] 



FKOM EOUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

close this chapter. In "Success Magazine" (May, 
1907), he says: 

' ' The blind belief which the people of the farming 
districts place in Roosevelt is almost pitiful. The peo- 
ple believe that he represents them at Washington and 
for that reason they are beginning to expect from him 
and the national administration a law against every- 
thing that oppresses them. On account of this belief 
in Roosevelt, they think that his power is unlimited. 
They are of the opinion that every session of Congress 
is a conflict between the president on one hand and the 
Senate and the House on the other in which the presi- 
dent is always the champion of their cause. In fact, 
even the most ardent Democratic orator begins his 
speeches with compliments to Roosevelt, for in no 
other way can he get the attention of those present." 
This is sufficient testimony to the popularity of Mr. 
Roosevelt with the great masses of the American 
people. 



[268] 



CHAPTER XII 

PEKSONALITY AND PRIVATE LIFE 

IN HIS excellent book, "The Americans," * Pro- 
fessor Miinsterberg gives the following character- 
istics of Theodore Roosevelt : 

" There have been differences of opinion, and, as was to 
be expected, complaints and criticisms have come from the 
midst of his own party. Yet any one who looks at his whole 
administration will see that in those first years Roosevelt won 
a more difficult and brilliant victory than he had won over 
the Spanish troops. 

" He had three virtues which especially overcame all small 
criticism. The people felt, in the first place, that a moral 
force was here at work which was more powerful than any 
mere political address or diplomatic subtlery. An immediate 
ethical force was here felt which owned to ideas above any 
party, and set inner ideals above merely outward success. 
Roosevelt's second virtue was courage. A certain purely 
ethical ideal exalted above all petty expediencies was for him 
not only the nucleus of his own creed, but was also his spring 
of action ; and he took no account of personal dangers. Here 
was the key-note of all his speeches — it is not enough to ap- 
prove of what is right, it is equally necessary to act for it 
fearlessly and unequivocally. Then he went on to his work, 
and if, indeed, in complicated political situations the president 
has had at times to clinch some points by aid of compromise, 
nevertheless the nation has felt with growing confidence that 



*"The Americans" by Hugo Miinsterberg. Copyright 
Doubleday, Page & Co., New York. 

[269] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

at no serious moment has he wavered a hair's breadth from 
the straight line of his convictions, and that he has had the 
courage to disregard everything but what he held to be right. 
And, thirdly, Roosevelt had the virtue of being sincere. 

" McKinley also had purposed to do right, but he had 
hardly an occasion for displaying great courage since so 
incomparably discreet a politician as he was could avoid 
every conflict with his associates, and he was ever the leader 
on highways which the popular humor had indicated. Thus 
the masses never felt that he was at bottom lacking in courage 
or that he always put off responsibility on others. The masses 
did, however, instinctively feel that McKinley 's astute and 
kindly words were not always sincere; his words were often 
to conceal something which was locked up behind his Napo- 
leonic forehead. And now there succeeded him an enthusiast 
who brimmed over plain expressions of what he felt, and 
whose words were so convincingly candid and so without 
reservation that every one had the feeling of being in the 
personal confidence of the president. 

" There was a good deal more beside his moral earnestness, 
his courage, and his frank honesty which contributed to 
Roosevelt's entire success. His lack of prejudice won the 
lower classes, and his aristocratic breeding and education won 
the upper, while the middle classes were enthusiastic over 
his sportsmanship. No president had been more unprejudiced 
or more truly democratic. He met the poor miner on the 
same footing as he met the mine owner ; he invited the negro 
to the White House ; he sat down and broke bread with the 
cow-boys ; and when he travelled he first shook the sooty hand 
of the locomotive engineer before he greeted the gentlemen 
who had gathered about in their silk hats! And, nevertheless, 
he was in many years the first real aristocrat to become 
president. 

" Roosevelt was the first to lift himself from these circles 
and become a great leader. Not alone the nobility of his 

[270] 



FKOM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

character but also of his culture and traditions was shown in 
his entire habit of mind. Never in his speeches or writings 
has he cited that socially equalizing Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and while his speeches at banquets and small 
gatherings of scholarly men have been incomparably more 
fascinating than his strenuous utterances to the voters, which 
he has made on his public tours, it has been often less the 
originality of his thoughts and still less the peculiarly taking 
quality of his delivery, than the evidences of ripe culture, 
which seem to pervade his political thought. Thus the smaller 
the circle to which he speaks the greater is his advantage ; 
and in speaking with him personally on serious problems one 
feels that distinction of thought, breadth of historical outlook, 
and confidence in self have united in him to create a person- 
ality after the grand manner. 

" The impression which Roosevelt has made on his own 
country has not been more profound than his influence on 
the galaxy of nations. At the very hour when the United 
States by their economic and territorial expansion stepped 
into the circle of world powers, they had at their head a 
personality who, for the first time in decades, had been able 
to make a great, characteristic, and, most of all, a dramatic 
impression on the peoples of Europe. And if this hour was 
to be made the most of it was not enough that this leader 
should by his impulsiveness and self-will, by his picturesque 
gestures and effective utterance, chain the attention of the 
masses and excite all newspaper readers, but he must also 
win the sympathies of the keener and finer minds, and excite 
some sympathetic response in the heads of monarchies. A 
Becond Lincoln would never have been able to do this, and 
just this was what the moment demanded. The nation's 
world-wide position in politics needed some comparable ex- 
pansion in the social sphere. Other peoples were to welcome 
their new comrades not only in the official bureau but also 
in the reception-room, and this young president had always 
at his command a graceful word, a tactful expedient, and a 

[Ml] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

distinguished and hospitable address. He was, in short, 
quite the right man. 

" Any new person taking hold so firmly has to disturb a 
good many things; busied with so much, he must overturn 
a good deal which would prefer to be left as it was. The 
honest man has his goodly share of enemies. And it is not to 
be denied that Roosevelt has the failings of his virtues, and 
these have borne their consequences. Many national dangers, 
which are always to be feared from officials of Roosevelt's 
type, are largely obviated by the democratic customs of the 
country. He lives amid a people not afraid to tell him the 
whole truth, and every criticism reaches his ear. And there 
is another thing not less important: democracy forces every 
man into that line of activity for which the nation has 
elected him. 

" A somewhat overactive mind like Roosevelt's has opinions 
on many problems, and his exceptional political position easily 
betrays one at first into laying exceptional weight on one's 
own opinions about every subject. But here the traditions 
of the country have been decisive ; it knows no president for 
general enlightenment, but only a political leader whose pri- 
vate opinions outside politics are of no special importance. 
In this as in other respects Roosevelt has profited by experi- 
ence. There is no doubt that when he came to the White 
House he underestimated the power of senators and party 
leaders. The invisible obstructions, which were somehow 
hidden behind the scenes, have no doubt given him many 
painful lessons. In his endeavor to realize so many heartfelt 
convictions, he has often met with arbitrary opposition made 
simply to let the new leader feel that obstructions can be 
put in his way unless he takes account of all sorts of factors. 
But these warnings have really done him no harm, for 
Roosevelt was not the man to be brought by them into that 
party subserviency which had satisfied McKinley. They merely 
held him back from that reckless independence which is so 
foreign to the American party spirit, and which in the later 

[272] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

years of Cleveland's administration had worked so badly. 
Indeed, one might say that the outcome has been an ideal 
synthesis of Cleveland 's consistency and McKinley 's power of 
adaptation. 

" For the fanatics of party Roosevelt has been, of course, 
too independent, while to the opponents of party he has 
seemed too yielding. Both of these criticisms have been made, 
in many different connections, since everywhere he has stood 
on a watch tower above the fighting lines of any party. When 
in the struggles between capital and labor he seriously took 
into account the just grievances of the working-man he was 
denounced as a socialist. And when he did not at once 
stretch out his hand to demolish all corporations he was called 
a servant of the stock exchange. When he appointed officials 
in the South without reference to their party allegiance, the 
Republicans bellowed loudly; and when he did not sanction 
the Southern outrages against the negro the Democrats be- 
came furious. When everything is considered, however, he 
has observed the maxim of President Hayes, ' He best serves 
his party who serves his country best.' 

' ' In this there has been another factor at work. Roosevelt 
may not have had McKinley 's broad experience in legislative 
matters, nor have known the reefs and bars in the Congres- 
sional sea, but for the executive office, for the administration 
of civil service and the army and navy, for the solution of 
federal, civil, and municipal problems his years of study and 
travel have been an ideal preparation. Behind his practical 
training he has had the clear eye of the historian. The 
United States had their proverbial good luck when the 
Mephistos of the Republican party prevailed on the formid- 
able governor of New York to undertake the thankless office 
of vice-president. If this nomination had gone as the better 
politicians wished it to go, the death of McKinley would have 
placed a typical politician at the helm instead of the best 
president which the country has had for many years. ' ' 

[273] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

The American citizen claims for himself the right to 
come in contact with the president at any time. Con- 
sequently admission to the White House is allowed to 
every one. If the secret service men who are always 
on duty there do not put out a visitor from time to 
time, the president receives every one who reaches the 
waiting room. On four days in the week from 10:00 
a.m.. to 1 :30 p.m., he can hardly think of doing any 
serious work, for he is constantly interrupted by peo- 
ple who have come to see him, to exchange a few words 
with him or quietly to shake his hand. On New Year 's 
Day, a grand reception is held at the White House. 
The visitors file past the president in a long line, who 
stands at one end of the reception hall with his wife. 
The president shakes hands with every one, man, 
woman, and child, but his wife merely nods a greeting. 
Nor can one blame her for not offering her hand, for 
the number of visitors usually mounts up to five or 
seven thousand. 

These public office hours are a severe strain upon 
the physical strength of the president as well as a 
drain upon the necessarily limited time for the busi- 
ness of State. The president seldom has time for 
proper recreation ; he must take it if he gets it at all. 

Mr. Eoosevelt generally retires* at between 11:00 
and 12:00 p.m., and arises promptly at 7:00 a.m. 



* As before stated, the translator has not thought best to 
change the author's form of statement, even though the incidents 
are now in the past. — Translator. 

[274] 



FEOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

In the West, he acquired the habit of shaving himself 
and he generally shaves himself to-day. At 8:30 he 
takes breakfast — oatmeal, eggs, bacon, coffee, and 
rolls — and is in his office invariably at 9 :45 to go over 
the mail with his private secretary, Mr. Loeb. Of 
course, only the most important letters are placed 
before him, for, as he receives about 1200 letters daily, 
it would be manifestly impossible for him to answer 
them all. 

Between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., he receives all 
kinds of people, dictates letters, and attends to public 
affairs as far as possible in the intervals. At 1 :30, he 
has his lunch with his family, to which meal he often 
takes, without formal invitation, one or more visitors 
in order to attend, during the conversation at the table, 
to the business that brought the visitors to him. 

At 2 :00 p.m., the official receptions are given in the 
Blue Room of the White House. At this time, ambas- 
sadors, or other eminent representatives of foreign 
countries see him. The reception usually lasts till 
3 :00 p.m., after which he goes again to his office to 
attend once^more to his mail and to sign papers that 
need his signature. The number of such papers is 
immense, for he must sign every promotion in the 
army and navy, every appointment of a postmaster, 
official of the treasury, of every federal judge and of 
the entire personnel of the diplomatic and consular 
service, all pardons, laws and proclamations relating 
to public lands and many other things. 

[275 1 



FROM ROUGH* EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

If at all possible, he leaves his work at 6:00 p.m., 
in order to get some recreation before dinner at 8 :00 
p.m. He takes his time at dinner and often spends a 
whole hour with his family at the table. He informs 
himself in regard to the most important events of the 
day from newspapers, magazines, and books. He 
reads rapidly and much, and his reading is as varied 
as it is extensive. He reads books in most of the lead- 
ing languages of the world and is conversant with their 
literature from the earliest to the most recent times. 
In the stillness of his library after dinner, he dictates, 
before retiring, his important official documents, such 
as messages to Congress. He seldom writes himself, 
but dictates while walking up and down the room in 
order to collect his thoughts. His mind seems to be 
more active when his body is moving. 

In personal habits, he is almost Puritanic: he does 
not smoke and drinks little. 

President Roosevelt finds his recreation in horse- 
back riding, walking, boxing, and tennis. In the city 
he can not walk on the streets without being stopped 
by numerous people who wish to shake hands with him. 
He, therefore, prefers to ride into the country, some- 
times accompanied by his wife or some of his children. 
At times he delights to take daring rides through 
woods and fields, over fallen logs and fences. The 
German ambassador, Baron von Sternberg, who is on 
familiar terms with the president, frequently is his 
companion on these hard and fearless rides. 

[276] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

His walks are really something to be dreaded by one 
who is not toughened to the exercise. He steps out at 
such a quick pace that the one who keeps up with him 
is soon covered with perspiration and thanks his stars 
when the walk is over. It is jocosely said in "Washing- 
ton that there are those who can not sleep at night for 
fear that President Roosevelt might invite them for a 
walk. 

Although Mr. Roosevelt is passionately fond of ten- 
nis and is considered a good player, boxing is his great- 
est delight. He keeps a professional boxer for that 
purpose and measures his strength with him in long 
and energetic bouts. During the Winter and Spring of 
1904, a famous Japanese boxer was his daily opponent. 

If one looks at President Roosevelt only from the 
official side, as is likely to be the case with people from 
foreign countries, one's impression of him is likely to 
take on a certain austerity and rigidity which the 
man's nature does not justify. To many who see him 
only in the performance of some official duty, he may 
appear a hard-headed, imperious man in whose heart 
there is no room for the finer things of the affections, 
who always comes down with an iron fist and who, as 
the Witzblatter at one time put it, occupies the 
position of a ''World-policeman." But such is the 
rankest folly. WTioever has come in personal contact 
with him has been delighted with the amiableness of 
his cordiality. He knows no stiff formality and con- 
descending smile; but his animated conversation, and 

[277] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

the contagious cheerfulness which usually breaks 
through it, give him the right of way to the heart of 
every visitor. 

Many a countryman of ours has seen Mr. Roosevelt 
at the White House and has carried home with him a 
lasting impression of a strong personality. For 
instance, Hermann Knauer tells us in his book, 
" Deutschland am Mississippi," of his meeting with 
Mr. Roosevelt: 

"The reception room of the president to which we entered 
from the lower floor is used, also, as a session room. The ceil- 
ing, walls, and doors are kept spotlessly white; the mahogany 
furniture shows the unmistakable marks of age; the arm chairs 
are very comfortable; book-shelves with reference works, bronze 
lights, and some pictures of the navy make the outfit complete. 
For those who are thirsty, a big silver reservoir with ice-water 
and glasses is in readiness. 

" But I had not long to examine the room : the door of the ad- 
joining office opened and with a firm, quick step President 
Roosevelt entered with outstretched hand and kindly words of 
greeting. Energy and vivacity was expressed in his every move- 
ment no less than in his lithe and well-built frame. His keen 
eyes look out from his gold-rimmed spectacles with an open and 
penetrating gaze. On his strongly masculine and expressive 
face, there is the faintest trace of a winning smile, which baf- 
fles the skill of the photographer to catch. When he smiles — 
and the president seems fond of smiling — he shows a splendid 
set of teeth. A man through and through, that is the impres- 
sion made upon the observer by Theodore Roosevelt ! 

" The conversation was carried on at first in German. ' You 
must excuse me/ said the president, ' for it has been thirty years 
since I have spoken any German to amount to anything, though 
I read German fairly well and delight in German books. When 
I was at Dresden, I understood your language very well and at 

[278] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

one time knew the " Nibelungenlied " by heart ; but to-day, if I 
wished to repeat it, it would be more the " Nibelungen Noth " for 
me.' In a very considerate manner, the president then inquired 
about my impressions of America and expressed the hope that 
my visit to the United States might prove pleasant and profit- 
able. The great St. Louis Exposition was then mentioned and 
the president spoke of the German exhibit and the large number 
of German visitors, which was shown by the fact that every 
steamer for New York from Germany was loaded to its full 
capacity. He spoke with great warmth of a well-known 
German scientist then in Chicago and added that he was de- 
lighted to be able to greet so many distinguished men of Ger- 
many. When the name of a certain German historian was 
brought up, the president casually remarked, ' I am something 
of an historian myself,' having doubtless in mind his ' Naval War 
of 1812 ' and ' History of New York.' During the entire con- 
versation, it was evident that President Roosevelt entertains the 
kindliest of feelings for Germany, and when I left, he expressed 
the hope of a Wiedersehen in the most cordial manner, repeat- 
edly shaking hands with me. I was delighted to receive a few 
days later a photograph of the president with the friendly in- 
scription, A Remembrance of the Hour." 

It is often said that the words of President Roose- 
velt to the Germans are no more than polite phrases, 
that he addresses Englishmen and Frenchmen in the 
same way. We can not expect the head of a great 
nation to treat the citizens of one country more cor- 
dially than those of another; yet it is quite evident 
that Mr. Roosevelt is personally more kindly disposed 
toward Germany than to any other European country, 
though he would be the last man to show favoritism 
in an official way. As a boy, he longed to visit Ger- 
many, and to-day he looks back with pleasure to the 

[279] 



FROM ROUGH) RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

few months spent upon our shore. In recent years, he 
has even expressed a desire to visit us once more, but, 
of course, he can not do it as long as he is president, 
for the Constitution forbids the president to leave the 
territory of United States. 

Often in his speeches and books, Mr. Eoosevelt has 
mentioned the Germans in terms of highest respect. 
In his "Winning of the West," he speaks of the Ger- 
mans as composing a part of that pioneer band that 
broke up the wilderness tract and spread civilization 
into the domain of the red man, and in a speech before 
the students of Clark University (June 22, 1905), he 
held up Germany as a model. He wished, he said, that 
the Americans could make the German idealism their 
own, and also that sharp, practical, healthy German 
intelligence which enables them to transmute that 
idealism into the most perfect military and commercial 
organizations that the world has ever seen. 

We all know how highly our emperor esteems Mr. 
Eoosevelt. The visit of Prince Henry, the christening 
of the yacht, Meteor, by Alice Roosevelt, the presenta- 
tion of the statue of Frederick the Great, the exchange 
of professors, and the recent visit of the German war- 
ships to the Naval Review at Charleston under com- 
mand of Von Reuben Paschwitz, who, as a military 
attache, took part in the Cuban war — these are a few 
of many proofs of the good relationship existing 
between the two countries. 

And Mr. Roosevelt esteems our emperor highly. He 

[280] 



FROM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

m 

once said that, if Emperor William had been born in 
America, even in the lowest social position, he would 
surely have become the leader of his district. When 
he sent Generals Young and Corbin to Germany on the 
invitation of the emperor, he concluded his orders to 
them in these words : ' ' Tell the emperor that I would 
like to see him ride at the head of his troops. By 
George, I would! And give him my hearty regards. 
Some day we shall have a spin together. ' ' 

The generals carried out their instructions to the 
letter, and the emperor was delighted. The emperor 
then inquired of General Corbin if he had ever been in 
Germany before. 

" Not in this part," replied the general. 

"In which part?" queried the emperor. 

" In Cincinnati and St. Louis," came the quick 
response ; and the emperor broke into a hearty laugh. 

Emperor William and President Roosevelt have 
often been compared, and in many ways they resemble 
each other. They are very nearly the same age ; they 
are both men of strong physique and passionately fond 
of sports. They are both devoted to the interest of 
their respective countries : the one stands for Greater 
Germany, the other for Greater America. They are 
both men of lofty ideals of the optimistic type: they 
believe firmly in man and in the ultimate progress of 
humanity. They are alike good speakers and excel- 
lent soldiers who advocate peace by a strong army and 
a navy always ready for duty. Their love of work, 

[281] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

their many-sidedness, their power of endurance are 
equally admirable. The family life of each is exem- 
plary and inspiring to the youths upon whom the future 
of the countries rests. Emperor William met the chil- 
dren on the play-grounds and parade fields ; President 
Roosevelt invited them to the White House and enter- 
tained more than six hundred of them at one time. 
Both are reckless horsemen: the emperor posts over 
the Bornstedter field at the head of his Garde-Hussars; 
and the president places himself at the head of the cav- 
alry drawn up at the railroad station in his honor and 
rides with a detachment in a charge over the old field 
of Chickamauga where the whole line is soon lost in a 
cloud of dust. Emperor William, when on board the 
Hohenzollem, conducts religious services; and Presi- 
dent Roosevelt occasionally speaks in the Dutch Re- 
formed church, of which he is a member, on biblical 
themes. 

Mr. Roosevelt's Christianity is practical. He once 
preached in a church in Chicago from the text, " Be ye 
doers of the word and not hearers only." He said, 
"We must be doers, not simply hearers. Every one 
who is really a Christian must feel a deep shame on 
seeing a hypocrite who disgraces his Christianity and 
his manhood. He who performs all the ceremonies of 
the church and does not follow its teaching in his daily 
life is not a Christian. Church attendance alone is not 
enough. We must study the Bible and take its teach- 
ings to our hearts; we must apply them to our daily 

[282] 



FKOM ROUGH EIDER TO PRESIDENT 

life. Man's first duty is to his home. The necessity 
for heroic actions comes seldom, but the ever monoto- 
nous life surrounds us on every hand, and it takes 
hearts of heroic courage to live it well." 

Mr. Roosevelt is a model preacher because he prac- 
tises what he preaches. Wherever he can make a sad 
heart happy, he does it gladly. Thousands have been 
helped by his kindness. Innumerable almost, are the 
stories which are told of his kindness and tenderness 
of heart, typical of which are the following : 

As the guerilla warfare dragged on in the Philip- 
pines, the order was given out from the Department of 
War that only the names of officers killed should be 
reported by cable to Washington and just the number 
of privates fallen. As soon as it was announced 
through the press of the country that a certain regi- 
ment had been engaged, the parents and relatives of 
the soldiers besieged the Department of War for infor- 
mation, but they were kept waiting an anxious six 
weeks till the news was brought by mail. 

The order had been promulgated without the knowl- 
edge of President Roosevelt, and when the facts were 
reported to him at Oyster Bay, his summer home, Gen- 
eral Corbin was present. He asked the general what 
the order meant. To which the general replied that it 
had been given for purposes of economy, that every 
officer had a symbol in the telegraphic code, but to give 
the full name and regiment of every private would cost 
upwards of twenty-five dollars. 

[283 1 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

When Mr. Eoosevelt heard the explanation, he said, 
"Corbin, can you telegraph from here to the Philip- 
pines ! ' ' 

The general thought he might wait till he got to 
Washington; he was going in an hour. 

" No, " said the president; " no, we will not wait. 
Send the order to have the names telegraphed, now. 
Those mothers gave the best they had to their country. 
We will not have them breaking their hearts for 
twenty-five dollars, or for fifty. Save the money some- 
where else." 

The office of President Roosevelt, when he is at his 
summer home, is at Oyster Bay, but the president him- 
self lives at Sagamore Hill and hardly ever goes to 
Oyster Bay. One day an old lady called at the office 
in Oyster Bay and sat down on the stairs to wait for 
Mr. Roosevelt. She was the widow of an officer who 
had distinguished himself in the Civil War and she 
wished to speak with the president about her pension. 
She waited for hours, till told that the president would 
not be there. She could not be persuaded to leave, 
however, without seeing him ; and she waited. 

When President Roosevelt learned incidentally of 
his patient visitor, he telegraphed to his office to send 
the woman to Sagamore Hill. When the carriage 
drove to the door, Mr. Roosevelt himself helped her 
from her carriage and greeted her with : " It is an 
honor to have the pleasure of meeting you. I have 
heard of your husband; he was a hero, but I will tell 

[284] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

you what I think of heroes. I do not believe that a 
man can be a real hero unless he has a good wife." 

It is needless to say that the pension claim was set- 
tled in a manner satisfactory to the visitor. 

The family life of Mr. Roosevelt is most happy. He 
is on the most endearing and familiar terms with his 
children, and when he takes his vacation at Sagamore 
Hill, they are delighted beyond measure, for they can 
then have him to themselves for a few days. In his 
wife, he has a companion of the most helpful sort, a 
most efficient wife and mother. Four boys and one 
girl have been born to the union : the oldest Theodore, 
1887, and the youngest Quentin, 1897. The daughter 
of his first marriage, Alice, was married a short time 
ago.- The children all have attended the public schools 
at Oyster Bay and some of them are still attending 
them. Not until they have finished the grades are they 
sent to a higher private school to prepare them for the 
university. 

The great secret of Roosevelt's popularity with his 
children and of his success in rearing them consists in 
his always being a child with them, a secret of which 
his father was a past master, as the readers of this 
biography will recall. He shares their sports with 
them, patiently entering into any innocent play that 
they may suggest. He himself teaches his boys to 
shoot and has erected a target at Sagamore Hill for 
that purpose. He goes swimming with them or rides 
with them and the neighbor boys through the country, 

[285 1 



FKOM BOUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

or rows them all to a secluded nook on the shore, 
where, hidden from the view of too curious photog- 
raphers, they can enjoy themselves as they wish. 

It is a great event in the life of the children when 
Mr. Roosevelt makes a camping trip of a few days 
with his own boys and those of the neighbors. When 
the place of destination is reached, the boys carry wood 
and water and make ready to fish. On such trips, Mr. 
Eoosevelt himself acts as cook and receives high praise 
from his companions for his ability with pot and skil- 
let. When the day is done, he sits around the camp- 
fire with the boys and entertains them with stories. 
They then wrap themselves in their blankets and lie 
down under the open sky to sleep, and the boys to 
dream themselves mighty hunters. When they return 
home, they live for weeks in memory of the good times 
they have had and look forward with the eagerness of 
boys to a similar experience another year. 

But Mr. Eoosevelt 's love for children is not confined 
to those of his own family. His heart goes out to the 
unfortunate children of the slums whose childhood is 
one dull day of penury and want, who have never seen 
the sun except through a cloud of smoke, who have 
never seen the flowers grow and inhaled the air sweet 
with the perfume of countless meadows. And he has 
done all in his power to make life happier for such 
children by using his influence for the establishment of 
public play-grounds and parks. 

On his journeys through the different parts of the 

[286] 



FROM ROUGB RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

country, President Roosevelt receives the greatest joy 
from the greeting given him by the children. As they 
stand by the roadside waving their flags while joy 
beams from their sparkling, innocent eyes, he not only 
loves them but sees in them the future American citi- 
zens. To visit places where children are gathered in 
large numbers is always a source of real joy to him. 
Once when he visited a school for boys, he told them of 
his Italian bugler who gave the order for the " Rough 
Riders" to charge up San Juan Hill. He blew till 
Spanish bullets tore away the two middle fingers of the 
hand which held the instrument. He then went to the 
rear, had his hand bandaged, returned to the battle- 
field and helped to bear away the wounded. He told 
them of his color-bearer who bore the flag through 
such a hail of bullets that the emblem hung in rags. 
He told them, too, that all his men were brave, that 
they marched boldly against the enemy, though they 
left the fourth of their number on the ground, killed or 
wounded. Nor did he forget to tell them how, when 
the battle was over, the tired and hungry soldiers 
divided their rations with the starving women and chil- 
dren who came out from the beleaguered city of Santi- 
ago, and to impress upon them that true manhood and 
sympathy for the weak always go hand in hand, that 
the boy who is obedient to mother and kind to smaller 
brothers and sisters and playmates will grow into a 
worthy and respected citizen. On such occasions, the 
children listen to him with breathless interest. 

[ 287 1 



IM^ ■ -<*»■ 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

At another time, he visited the Children's Home, 
established by Jacob Riis on Twin Island. As soon as 
the children heard that the Sylph was in sight, they 
quit their dinner and ran down to the shore to greet 
him. Hardly had the president set foot on land when 
he was surrounded by children, each vying with the 
others to do him the greatest honor. They danced 
about him ; they hung to his hands and to his coat-tail ; 
they ran backwards in front of him and talked as they 
went. When the president had seen how happy the 
children were, he remarked feelingly to his companion, 
" Jacob, what is a monument of stone or bronze com- 
pared with the happiness of these children and 
mothers? " 

President Roosevelt is the hero of the growing gen- 
eration, and he is an example worthy of emulation, 
because he has alway s had high ideals and has to 
the best of frail human power lived up to them. As a 
boy, he made up his mind to develop his body that he 
might do the work of a man, and he succeeded. He 
was ever ambitious to stand for the right and he has 
never given way a hair's breadth from that course. 
" Better to be true than famous," he is fond of saying, 
and he has remained true to his ideals under every cir- 
cumstance of life. And fame has come to him un- 
sought because he deserved it. No one can say that 
he has not made mistakes; he is only a man with a 
man's fallible judgment. " Only he who does nothing 
makes no mistakes," he says himself. 

[288] 



FROM ROUGH RIDER TO PRESIDENT 

But in spite of his mistakes, which are few compared 
with his noble deeds of statesmanship and kindness, he 
stands before us not only as the recognized leader of 
one of the greatest nations of the world but as one of 
the strongest personalities of the nations of the world. 
He is feared by the Dunkelmanner (evil men) of 
his own land and loved by the great American people 
as a whole. And now in the words of a member of 
Congress from Pennsylvania we shall take leave of 
him: 

' ' We admire the courage which spurs him to do jus- 
tice to all men without regard to race, color, or social 
standing. We hope that God may spare him many 
years as an example of American manhood, as a man 
who fears nothing except that he might fail to do his 
duty to God and man." 



THE END 



T 289 1 



MAY 3 1911 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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